Archived Story: Blight
by Orpheus Kidwell
Summary: Uploaded for archival purposes. Nine beings that should not exist, if not for a madman's resolve. The Wights are not human, Faunus nor Grimm, and yet they are all three. The New Dawn refuses to grant them their freedom, and their God will stop at nothing to have his pawns back.
1. Chapter I

**Blight**

**Another update to an active story, and another archive uploaded. This is a much bigger one than usual, and I may have... misplaced a couple of chapters, but I did clean up what's here. I'll try to find the rest and add it in later, but I'm too tired of editing today.**

**Chapter I**

Remnant is home to Four Kingdoms: Vale to the South, Atlas to the North, Vacuo to the West and Mistral to the East. These small beacons of hope in the darkness are insignificant in comparison to the overreaching darkness that claims most of the world's five continents. This vast stretch of land and sea outside of the protection of the Kingdoms goes by a simple name that strikes fear into civilians and Hunters alike: The Blight. Life is twisted, light is dark, shadows live and the living die where the Blight touches. Worst of all, the Creatures of Grimm roam unchecked in this terrible place that may as well be a whole other world as far as the Kingdoms are concerned.

On the easternmost continent where the Kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo called home, thousands upon thousands of miles away from either of them, on the southernmost point lay a building of cold steel. This complex lay within thick walls that seemed to touch the sky. There was not a dent to be seen in the framwork, though there were plenty of scorch marks. The sole entrance was a mechanical section of the wall, set to lift up enough to allow passage when active.

The complex itself had a multitude of buildings within, all made of the same uniform metal which lacked dents, damage and decoration.. Every door was thick, tall and only opened electrically from the signals of a large tower that lay in the very center of the compound. It might have been tallest of buildings there if not for the towers at each of the four corners of the already titanic wall. Each of these were cylindrical with a large Dust cannon mounted on the very top.

One building in particular, however, stood out amongst the otherwise unassuming layout. It did not dominate the skyline like the walls and towers. Rather, it took up the most land area of any building there. A caramel-skinned girl with mint-green hair tied in a ponytail walked right up to it.

She seemed to be on the verge of adulthood, with such a confident and commanding aura, that there was no doubt she was either high in the chain of command or very important to the complex. Her red eyes looked forward, ignoring anything and everything else around her. She wore a short, olive top that exposed her midriff and a pair of brown chaps over dark green pants. She also wore a pair of plain, dark brown shoes and white, half gloves.

"Ah, Ms. Sustrai!" One of two guards in front of the building announced as he finally noticed the girl. The second guard, who had never seen the teen before looked skeptically at her as his partner saluted the verdette. She crossed her arms beneath her developing bust as she noted the man she hadn't met before not showing her respect. "Cobalt!" The first man hissed. "Do it!"

The man looked between the two, before sighing and mimicking his partner. The teen smiled as she walked past them, through the open door. "Cobalt, you're suicidal! That's Emerald Sustrai, Number Seven's handler!" The second man widened his eyes upon hearing that and swallowed.

"That little girl is strong enough to keep one the Wights under control?" Cobalt whispered, getting a nod from his partner. "First that blonde and puppet boy and now this teenage girl? Why are these people so young…?"

Ignoring the two men as she walked through the hallway, Emerald smiled to herself. _With everything that slave driver Overseer has had me doing, I haven't been able to visit you in such a long time, Fuu. I hope you and your other family have been doing well. _Her smile changed to a curious frown as she heard a strange noise in the background. Following the noise, she eventually came to an indoor training area. The room had one side that was set up to mimic the badlands of Vacou, while the other was a miniature mountain that rose several dozen feet high.

"Alrighty, you two!" A voice rang out in the exact center of the training ground, catching Emerald's attention as she noted three teens – two her age and one just two or so years younger – standing. The speaker was a boy with spiked, blonde hair. His eyes were crimson with slit pupils and would have been menacing if not for the wide smile on his lips void of any anger or hatred. On either cheek, there lay a trio of whisker marks as well.

He wore orange jacket over a black shirt and similarly colored cargo pants, a pair of leather boots and a white, ankle-length trench coat with flame designs around the edges. Behind the boy, nine fox tails the same yellow as his ears and hair swished with white tips. Lastly, the blonde had a necklace with nine Grimm mask shards on it, each one fashioned into a magatama. This was the boy Emerald knew as Naruto Uzumaki, though to most he was simply Wight Experiment Number Nine.

The boy to Naruto's left was the youngest of the group, only twelve while everyone else was fourteen. He has short, red hair and a pair of light, green eyes surrounded by black markings. He wore a brown cloak over his body, though a light brown shirt and pants could be seen below it, as well as a pair of sandals on his feet. On his back was a large, peanut-shaped gourd with blue markings and a cork at the top. Behind him swayed a large raccoon tail. It was a solid, sandy brown with strange blue markings that almost looked like runes instead of the normal rings, however. Around this boy's neck was a magatama pendant made from a Grimm mask shard. This was Gaara Sabaku, also known as Wight Experiment Number One.

The last member of the trio was the only female among them. She had the same caramel skin as Emerald and the same shade of hair, though it was shoulder-length and loose, with an orange bourette in the left side. Her eyes were a dull orange instead of red, which was a side-effect of her experiments. She was wearing a white top that criss-crossed in the back and detached sleeves with a sleeveless, mesh undershirt beneath the top. She also wore a white skirt that was slit on both sides to reveal mesh shorts beneath it. The verdette had a set of six beetle-like wings on her back and a seventh protrusion roughly the same size and shape of a wing in the very center of them. As with the others, she had a necklace of magatama made of Grimm masks, though hers numbered seven. This was Fuu Sustrai, Wight Experiment Number Seven.

"So, are you two ready?" Naruto asked as he looked between the two. Gaara nodded as he reached up and pulled the cork from his gourd. Fuu mimicked the action, removing the lid from her tube after nodding. "Then let the battle begin!" The blonde jumped back away from the two just in time to avoid a stream of sand from Gaara's gourd that slammed right into Fuu.

The winged girl inhaled and let loose a scream that shook the building, scattering the sand from the sheer force of her voice before taking flight and hovering a few feet in the air. Gaara rose his fist up, the sand following suit and attempting to blindside Fuu.

It was unsuccessful, however, as she maneuvered around it quickly. From her tube, a black and white cloud emerged along with a cacophonous buzzing. The cloud was revealed to be a large hive of wasps that flew at Gaara as quickly as they could.

Spotting the new danger, Gaara sent his sand for the threat and crushed the swarm in a larger cloud of sand, loud squelching announcing hundreds of dead insects at once. While Gaara had been preoccupied, Fuu shimmered momentarily before disappearing as her skin and clothing began to blend in with the surroundings. The Raccoon-like boy realized this and stayed still, his eyes shut. "Your camouflage can only do so much, Fuu." He stated emotionlessly.

"They've been training really hard to master their powers, you know." Emerald nearly jumped as the voice came from beside her. Turning, she noted it was Naruto. "The rules of this spar make it so they can only use Semblance and Tailed Powers as well as their bodies to fight. Fuu relied too much on her weapons so Gaara has a distinct advantage here."

Emerald nodded as she looked at the blonde, specifically at his swishing tails. These three and six others in this building were known as the Wights, nine experiments created as weapons. Originally each one was a normal human, though their uniquely strong Aura made them of interest to the group that owned this Complex.

Each of them had been modified on the genetic level and were now partially human, partially Faunus and partially Grimm. Their tails were an important indicator for power as each Wight was infused with the energy of between one and nine Grimm species; Naruto had nine, Fuu had seven and Gaara had one. Each tail also gave the Wights access to all the abilities of that Grimm species. With the sheer power the nine Wights held, they were perfect weapons. There was just one minor hiccup… the genetic experimentation had side-effects, ones that made each Wight unstable mentally.

"My little sister does rely on Chomei a bit too much, you're right." Emerald conceded. "But that won't stop me from believing in her." Naruto grinned at the girl as she said that. "What?"

"Nothing. Fuu's just really lucky, you know? Gaara too. If I had a sibling I'd want them to be my Handler as well." Fuu looked at the ground when he mentioned Handlers. Each of the Wights was assigned one or two individuals to keep them grounded and from escaping.

"Don't worry, after today Handlers will be a thing of the past." Emerald whispered, though she knew Naruto's sensitive ears would pick it up. "And all of you will have a normal life. We're a family, Naruto. Fuu sees you as a brother and that's good enough for me." Naruto smiled warmly at her words even as an explosion shook the entire building, stopping the spar. Gaara recalled his sand into a cloud around him and Fuu grinned widely.

"I'm calling a draw in this round, you two!" Naruto announced to his fellow Wights. Gaara looked dissatisfied at the outcome but Naruto ignored it. When they landed, the ground gave a small tremor until a crevice opened up between the quartet. Rising from the gash in the landscape was a duffle bag.

Gaara opened it and pulled out a silver khopesh, though its straight edge extended past the curve of the blade as a rifle barrel while the hilt had a trigger. This was Shukaku.

Fuu took out her own weapon. At first glance it appeared to be nothing more than a seven foot long staff. Fuu's canister buzzed with energy, however, as a swarm of Hercules Beetle flew out and surrounded the tip. After a short time, they flew back into the canister, though Chomei, the weapon, now had the head of a partisan. The spearhead itself added another foot to the weapon while the protrusions on either side were sharpened and flared out until they curved into the tip on each outer edge.

When Naruto grabbed Kurama, it seemed to be nothing more than a simple dagger. This didn't last long. _Something _surrounded the weapon but _nothing _surrounded it. Kurama's shape was distorted but also seemed to stay the same. The air rippled and light seemed to be swallowed within the area around the dagger as its form both distorted more and seemed more stable. Finally, the rippling ended with a _snap _as Kurama held a new form. Instead of one dagger, it was now in the form of two, forest green revolvers. Naruto adjusted something and blades unfolded themselves from beneath the barrels, causing them to appear more like sickles than guns.

"Oh? That's quite the compliment, Naruto. Is there a particular reason you chose Scarab?" Emerald wondered as an identical weapon was held in her own hands. "I thought you might have gone for something like Son Goku in this situation, honestly." Naruto grinned as the doors to the arena they were in opened.

"I thought the versatility of Scarab might prove most useful in this fight." He responded as another explosion rocked the Complex. Looking at the doors, the quartet was presented with Naruto's own Handler as well as a group of security officers. Naruto's Handler had gravity-defying spikes of grey hair and dark eyes. His face was mostly covered up aside from that though, a mask extending from below his shirt up to the bridge of his nose. In addition to that, he wore a green vest, a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of matchings pants. In his hand he held a tanto that was glowing white with Aura and sparking with Lightning Dust.

"We have intruders, you three get to your stations." Gaara seemingly had no response to the order, looking over the group of twelve or twenty with less warmth than ice as he crossed his arms. Fuu was abuzz with energy in a metaphorical sense while her canister was abuzz with activity in a _very _literal sense. Emerald had a smile on her lips that you couldn't quite tell was anything but genuine. Naruto… he had a grin so wide it was a wonder it didn't split his face in two.

"Of course, Kakashi." The blonde responded as he began to walk over to the group. "Nothing would please me more." As the four walked towards the group, several things happened at once.

First, Emerald activated Scarab's kusarigama form, giving several of the security officers grave injuries. There wasn't really any telling who was who with them, since they all wore the same uniform. Black shirt, black cargo pants and a Grimm-like masks over their faces not unlike the White Fang. This was the Complex's elite guards and black ops division. They had a fair few names depending on exactly who you talked to. Most people just referred to them as the Watch though.

Second, Kakashi – who likely was expecting this from the get-go – made to strike Fuu, who had been in the rear. She didn't move, but it was unnecessary as Gaara's sand rose up in a wall that protected her from both the strike and the voltage. Where the blade touched, however, sand became glass.

Third, the _entire _room shook as Naruto tapped into his Semblance, Six Paths to Divinity. Another crevice opened up in the room and several members of the Watch dropped in because they weren't ready to react to it. When the two groups separated, Kakashi was left with seven followers while the Wights and Emerald were perfectly intact. "I should have guessed a Wight wouldn't have any sense of loyalty." Kakashi commented coldly. Naruto shrugged.

"I mean, you know, when you suffer dozens of experiments at the hands of an insane snake, things tend to get a little loose. Sanity, loyalty, commitment, I think they got lost somewhere in the sofa."

Kakashi chuckled, falling into a stance with his tanto. "I can see that sense of humor of yours is as terrible as ever." The blonde didn't say anything; he just grinned. Auras flared on both sides but nobody moved.

Kakashi jumped forward, but suddenly backpedaled as something else rose from the crevice. He may have been quick enough to evade, but others weren't so lucky. A _large _mass of ooze and slime revealed itself, consuming two of the remaining ANBU. There wasn't even a scream, it was so fast. The slime soon began to take a roughly human shape before its grey-bluish pigmentation altered to something more… familiar.

Utakata was a man with brown hair that reached his shoulders, a portion of his bangs covering his left eye while an ahoge stuck up in the back of his head. Portions of his chest were exposed thanks to how loosely he wore his light blue kimono, which was tied with an orange obi. Hanging from his obi were a pair of revolvers, though he didn't touch either one. Lastly, around his neck was a necklace of six magatama made of Grimm mask shards and six slug-like tails that erupted from beneath his kimono and seemed to be constantly perspiring. "What was that about us not being loyal?" Utakata wondered in a cheerful voice, though his expression didn't quite match it.

Kakashi cursed as Wight Number Six showed up. Looking at the men he had and the threat he was facing he grimaced beneath the mask. "We're retreating. Don't think this means you'll win though. We _will _make you pay for betraying us." Naruto just grinned at the man as his former Handler left along with five ANBU of the original twenty or so. After they left, the blonde sighed before looking at Utakata.

"You came, Utakata. I thought you were still on the fence about the escape?" The man looked at the Wights and Emerald before smiling lightly.

"How could I allow my little brothers and sister Wights to go into the world alone? You will need some help and Dust knows you can't expect Bee, Han or Roushi to do it. I don't want Yugito and Yagura to be the only positive influences on you three… though I can't but hardly call those two a _positive _influence. Yugito is far too eccentric and Yagura is… Yagura."

"I'm glad you decided to join us." Emerald stated. Utakata regarded her a moment before smiling. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, I think that everything is just fine. It seems I can have some hope in humanity after all. Not everyone is so malicious as to wish death and imprisonment to strangers, so I think that that's something great. Everything is just fine." Emerald looked at him oddly before shrugging. Utakata always was an odd one. "Now, what do you say we get out of here?"

With a grin, Naruto activated his Semblance once more. This time, he touched one of the concrete walls. In an instant, it seemed to split in two. This was a part of his Semblance that the Complex had dubbed The Hungry Ghost Who Consumes. The scientists here were a bit… over-dramatic. Its purpose was to convert non-organic matter into Aura and add it to his reserves. Naruto didn't even know where the Ghost part came from.

As it opened up, the quintet were able to bear witness to a scene that would have terrified most. Instead, it only gave a grim sense of satisfaction to the Wights. Bodies littered the ground; blood painted the pavement; once proud buildings lay as mounts of rubble. The Wights had struck their prison and turned on their captors. Naruto shifted Kurama back into its base state, tucking it into a scabbard on his waist.

The wall that these people thought was impenetrable had large holes in it all along the perimeter, from what the group saw. With all the death and despair, the group knew that Grimm would come quickly. They would be long gone by that time though. This… was the day they were waiting for.

**[][][]**

It was several hours later before Naruto and his group stopped their trek through the Blight. They had headed east, towards the Kingdom of Vale, rather than moving towards Vacuo. The quintet knew exactly where the rendezvous point was they needed to reach to meet with the others. Several dozen miles north-north-east from the Complex, there was a forest infested with Grimm. That's where they currently found themselves.

"Fuu, do you have any idea where they are?" Naruto asked the verdette from his seat on a particularly large rock. The blonde looked exceptionally bored, given they had been waiting for nearly half an hour at this point. It was _so _infuriating to have nothing to do! It just made him want to… no, he shouldn't do that. If he tried to find something to take his anger out on, there's a good chance it could give those people a clue on their location.

Fuu finally spoke up after some time. "It seems that some of the insects sensed things that felt like Grimm… but also like humans, and also like they belonged in the Forest. It sounds like at least one of us passed through here and kept going. I'm honestly not sure who it could be, but it can't be a good idea to leave them be. If it was Bee or Yugito, it would be fine but I'm afraid of what would happen if it were Yagura. You know how he gets."

"Don't even talk about things like that, Fuu." Emerald begged with a sigh. "We don't need that idiot to go on a rampage this early." Fuu shrugged, which only led Emerald to shake her head. Neither Yagura nor Fuu made their distaste for the world in general a secret. "I know how you feel about humanity, but we still shouldn't let him do what he wants."

Utakata nodded. "Emerald is correct. It would be bad if he did so. There is a good chance the ones in charge of the Complex might be able to track us down if he made a scene." Naruto took this opportunity to jump from the rock and land near his family.

"Alright, it's decided then. We can't actually be sure than any of the others know how a rendezvous point works. With that in mind, I think we should go after whoever it was that passed through. If its Yagura, we need to keep him from killing too many people. If its Yugito, Bee, Roushi or Han, I think we'll be fine though. Let's hope its Yagura though."

"So we can keep him from going on a rampage?" Gaara asked.

"No. Because Yugito and Bee are too crazy." Emerald responded with a shudder. "I love your siblings, Gaara. I love them like my own, but I can only stand so much insanity." The boy shrugged before pausing as a thought occurred to him.

"Where would Temari and Kankuro be?" He wondered as he looked around. The youngest and first of the Wights widened his eyes as he pondered it. "Did they make it out? Did someone kill them…" He began whispering to himself so lowly that no one could actually make out what he said, even with enhanced hearing.

"Don't worry too much about them." Naruto told the redhead as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Gaara looked up at the blonde, madness only bared kept at bay in his eyes. "They were supposed to be with Han and you know that he would sooner sacrifice himself than allow someone close to him to die. He also knows how much they mean to you, so I am positive that we'll find all three of them together."

Gaara thought about what the blonde said and nodded, adopting a cold look in his eyes once more. "You're right, Naruto. I apologize for my overreaction." The ninth Wight chuckled and ruffled Gaara's hair, much to the younger boy's chagrin.

"Don't even mention it, Gaara. Alright, lead the way Fuu!" The winged Wight nodded and began walking as the forest became abuzz with the activity of nameless and countless insects. As part of the experimentation, each Wight was able to communicate with animals that were somewhat closely related to their Faunus DNA. Fuu went a step ahead thanks to the infusion of Empress Sting Nether infused into her, allowing her to forcefully take control of any and all insects in an area. They were powerless to do anything but follow her orders thanks to her Sixth Tail.

"It seems that whoever passed through isn't that far off." Fuu mentioned. "They weren't running and didn't even leave the forest. I just hate that we can't sense each other but everyone else can sense us." The girl grumbled as they walked.

"It's just an effect of your powers." Emerald pointed out. "I can't sense Grimm, but I can sense anything with an Aura if I pulse mine out. I imagine that Grimm can sense each other as well, through some function. If you were to send out your… hm… I'm not sure what your energy is actually called. You have both Aura and Nether. We'll figure that out later, but if you were to pulse it out you'd just cause Nether to deteriorate from your Aura and Aura to flare up to protect humans and Faunus from your Nether. While you could detect things with only one, given each Wight has both energy sources, it means that their Nether cancels out your Aura and their Aura cancels out your Nether."

"That doesn't mean we have to like it though." Naruto pointed out, in agreement with Fuu. "It really does make finding each other difficult since we require the assistance of someone else to do the actual tracking for us." Emerald shrugged. "Damn scientists screwing everything up. Couldn't they do _anything _right?"

"I mean… if it weren't for the Complex, then none of us would know each other. They helped us form our family at the very least." Utakata pointed out. When Naruto heard that, he sighed and nodded.

"I do like that I have a family now instead of staying in that orphanage, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't give it all up in an instant. If it were possible to keep all of you from having to go through that, I would go back right now."

"Naruto, you must remain calm." Gaara ordered. "I can feel all of the hatred and anger coming off of you and it would not do to have Grimm show up. On top of that, such emotions can do nothing but bring us misfortune. We must remain collected if we are to become reunited."

The Ninth Wight sighed and gripped the magatama on his necklace tightly with a nod. "Of course, you're absolutely correct Gaara. I'm sorry. I almost lost it there for a moment. Alright, Fuu, if they haven't left the forest yet, do you know how much farther it is until we get there?"

"Maybe if you look up, kitten!" The voice gained everyone's attention. As one, they looked at the tree branches to find another blonde. She jumped down and landed on her feet, a grin on her lips. It was fitting, given the blonde had a pair of cat tails that swayed behind her. Her hair itself was tied in a stiff ponytail, bandages keeping it in place tightly. Around her neck was a necklace with two magatama made of Grimm mask shards and she looked at them with amused, blue eyes. As for clothing, this woman was wearing a red shirt and black pants, over the shirt was a black coat lined with white fur that looked oddly familiar. When Utakata noticed the blood on the jacket he sighed.

"You took that from a corpse, didn't you?" Yugito grinned wider. "Well, at least Hidan is one less person we have to worry about. Have you seen anyone else, Yugi?" He wondered. When the woman shook her head, he looked at Naruto. "What do you think?"

The nine-tailed teen thought a moment. "Well, there's six of us now. If we assume that Han is with Temari and Kankuro, then those three are more than capable of surviving anything lower than a Drake-type Grimm. Roushi won't allow anything to find him unless he wants to be found. Bee is… eccentric, but still the second strongest of us so there's no reason to worry over him. I'm just worried that Yagura will get into trouble. There's no telling where he is though. Unless you sensed him, Em?" Emerald shook her head to signal that she had, in fact, not. "If they decided to ignore the rendezvous I very specifically set up, then I suppose we should just continue. There's got to be a settlement somewhere around here."

"It's as good a plan as any." Utakata agreed and the now sextet made their way out of the forest. The more distance they put in between themselves and the Complex, the better.

**[Three Days Later]**

It turns out that, in fact, there didn't have to be a settlement anywhere near the Complex. Perhaps that was for the best. After three days, three nights and hundreds of miles the group had finally come across something. It wasn't large, perhaps 14 families at most, but Grove was still something.

The village itself numbered about twenty buildings with a palisade surrounding it that would never stand up to even a single Boarbatusk. The illusion of safety was nice for the naïve though. Before the gate stood two men carrying rifles that addressed the group. "What is your business, travelers?" One of them wondered.

"We're just looking for a place to sleep." Utakata mentioned before anyone else could talk. It was best if he took care of this. "Is there an inn in your village?" The second guard nodded the affirmative. The largest reason that they weren't reacting to the five Wights was down to a particular ability they shared. They were capable of condensing their power down. It made their Aura and Nether seem less voluminous – though far denser – and also caused their tails to disappear the more they did it. Gaara found hiding his Nether to be the easiest of them given he had the least amount of Nether to condense. Naruto, on the other hand, had required _several _months in order to get this technique down.

"Of course." The first guard seemed to note the gear and dress of the six and smiled. "We always have room for Huntsmen. Please, I hope you enjoy your time in Grove." Utakata bowed his head slightly in appreciation.

"Thank you. Let us be off then." He motioned the others to follow him and they made their way through the palisade and down the road. "I wonder if those guards are so incompetent as to not detect the absence of soul right before them." Utakata commented.

"It's not that simple." Emerald noted, gaining the Sixth Wights attention. "Yeah, the Wights have a _lot _of Aura and Nether but the problem is that its difficult to distinguish between the two of them. On top of that, when you're condensing it, the two become almost indistinguishable and the amount of Aura you have is so dramatically larger than your Nether that it does a good job of hiding the Nether."

"Well, that's because those scientists at least knew how to make an effective weapon. With all the people they killed and Draugr they created, I would hope us _successes _were made well." Naruto replied. "Still, I do hope nothing happens to make us reveal ourselves so quickly. I feel so weak and exposed right now. Losing access to my Tailed Powers really sucks." Emerald didn't really get it, but the other Wights seemed to share the same opinion. She supposed it might be similar to losing her Semblance while in unknown territory, but she couldn't be entirely sure.

Not much longer, the group found what they had been searching for. The inn, The Sleeping Dragon, was two stories high and made of wood. Large, glass windows were blocked off by purple drapes and the exterior seemed to have been maintained well. There was no obvious paint chips, the foundation seemed secure enough and they couldn't see any reason why to distrust it. Walking inside, they were unsurprised to find it just as well maintained.

The walls were painted a soft blue that went well with the lighting. Waxed floors showcased a care for cleanliness while there was already someone greeting them the moment they walked in. This was a good choice to make, Utakata felt. As the oldest among them left to set up their rooms, he left the others behind.

After he was sure Utakata was keeping the innkeeper busy, Naruto turned to the others. "Can you feel that? I'm not going crazy, am I?" The other Wights nodded, though Emerald seemed confused.

"Alright, I'm lost. What's going on?" She looked at them, hoping someone would explain.

"It feels like… how do I put this… oh… the opposite of a Grimm?" Fuu tried to describe it.

"It's as if its an Aura so powerful it could blot out my Nether, but its also not Aura." Gaara continued.

"It's not Nether either. It feels different from me. If I'm both combined, it fills like this energy is neither." Naruto commented with a thoughtful look.

"But its _suffocating_." Yugito added. "The Grimm part of me is just _screaming _at me to run away and I don't know what I should do." When Emerald looked at the Second Wight, she could actually see the barely restrained _terror _in her eyes. What is it they were feeling? It wasn't a Grimm, she would be able to feel it if it was. All four of them suddenly turned their heads as one to regard someone coming from upstairs.

The woman was tan with chestnut brown hair and a pair of matching eyes. She wore a cream blouse with a brown vest over it, yellow pauldrons covering her shoulders as well as a pair of brown pants and knee-high, yellow boots. It wasn't her outfit that they were paying attention to though. "Her… its her…" Naruto muttered, though Emerald could barely hear it.

"Oh, are you leaving already, Miss Amber?" The clerk asked, getting a nod from the woman.

"I really must be on my way. Thank you for everything." The clerk smiled. Amber paused, looking at the Wights but said nothing, walking past them. Utakata excused himself from the clerk and came over to them.

"Did you…?" The others nodded once. He looked back at the clerk, then at his family and sighed. "Naruto, I know what's going through your head."

"If we don't find out what she is and Yagura ends up meeting her…" He muttered.

"You worry too much about that psycho, you know?" The Sixth Wight replied but sighed. "Alright, if she's leaving the village it seems we'll have to continue as well. Are you alright to travel, Emerald?" The verdette nodded her head.

"Don't worry about that, I'm fine." With that, the Wights left. While the clerk was confused, she didn't say anything. Outside, the Wights were presented with the woman standing there and waiting for them.

"I figured that you would come out. I do hope we won't have to fight in the middle of a village." As she asked that, her eyes seemed to glow a dull orange, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"We have no wish to fight you." Utakata mentioned before looking down at Naruto, who was whistling innocently. "Most of us, anyways. We were simply curious what in the name of Dust you are." Utakata allowed a portion of his own power to pulse, showing the woman that he was unafraid.

"I could ask you five the same thing." Amber commented and looked around, seeing that some of the villagers were becoming uncomfortable but didn't know why. It was likely even they could feel the onslaught of power but didn't know what it was or where it was coming from. "Let us leave Grove and we shall speak. Do not try anything though. While you may outnumber me… I outclass you by many magnitudes." The underlying threat was more than obvious enough.

**[Eastern Road]**

The group walked out the eastern gate of Grove in silence. Only when they were several minutes out did either party begin. It was neither Utakata nor Amber, however. "Are you human?" Fuu asked. While Amber was prepared for many things, that was _not _one of them. Thinking a moment over what it was the girl asked her, she shook her head. "Then what _are _you. You don't feel like you have Aura or Nether. It feels like the opposite of Nether, but in a different way than Aura is. It's more like Dust than anything."

Amber chuckled at that. "I never quite thought about my abilities like that. I suppose that's not an… incorrect way to describe it. However, before I explain where my powers come from I'm more curious about exactly what _you _are. You feel like a human, but also like a Faunus and also like several types of Grimm. It is… disconcerting." Fuu seemed put off at the statement, so Naruto stepped forward to explain it. It wasn't the part where Amber called it disconcerting that bother Fuu. He knew it was the fact that someone insinuated she was human.

"We are Wights." If they were to gain the trust of this woman, they needed to show faith. Explaining their own story might get them just enough to find out whether she was a danger to their siblings. "We are everything you described, but also none of them. I'm not sure exactly who is responsible for it, but we were kidnapped around eight years ago. As humans, we had particularly strong Auras. The organization responsible for our creation wanted humans and Faunus with dense Auras for what they planned.

"After thousands of experiments there were few _successes_ as they termed us. Our genetics were altered to include both human and Faunus genetics until we became a hybridization so far away from the two that we aren't one or the other. That was a necessary step because if someone has too weak of a soul when the Infusion starts, they become a Draugr." Amber didn't even need to ask the question she was wondering about, as Naruto continued. "The Infusion is a process created by Dr. Yamato Orochimaru and Dr. Kabuto Yakushi wherein they take the dust form of slain Grimm and condense it into a liquid essence to inject it into a subject.

"If the subject has too weak of a soul, as I stated, they became a Draugr. These are mindless beasts that appear like a human or Faunus but with charcoal black skin, red eyes and large, red veins coating their body. After the first year of a Draugr's existence, they also begin to grow bone-like protrusions over their body in a similar fashion to whichever species of Grimm they've been Infused with. On top of that, they still retain their Aura and Semblance. In terms of strength they can be anything from a newborn Nevermore to a Titan-Class Drake-Type Grimm. It all depends on their strength prior to the Infusion, their Semblance and the species they were Infused with." Amber's eyes widened at that information. Those were the _failures_?

"Us Wights are different. We appear as human when we condense our Aura and Nether but can release them to go into our full power in a moment's notice." With that said, Naruto felt they were far enough from Grove to do so and stopped condensing his energies. The air rippled around him and, instantaneously, he now had his nine tails once more. While Amber had been looking forward one moment, she _immediately _turned around upon feeling the immense amount of Nether he gave off. The feeling of the Nether as well… if those were the species she thought than Ozpin would really like to know about this. Naruto grinned at the reaction before condensing his energy once more. After a few seconds, he was back to appearing like a normal human. "Impressive, isn't it?"

"You said you were experiments from an organization you didn't know the name of. Did you escape then?" At the boy's wide grin, she took that as a yes. "What happened to the members of the organization?"

"Well, I know that we killed some of them, so did Utakata. I imagine Yugi did more than her fair share, didn't you?" The other blonde smiled mischievously.

"Only the ones who hated cats. I promise."

"I'm not sure about the rest though, it was mostly Yagura and Roushi's job to clear out the base. They hated the scientists even more than we did, so we let them do what they wanted. So, Amber, that just leaves one question. You aren't a Wight, a Draugr, a human, a Faunus or a Grimm. What are you?" Amber paused a moment before deciding to answer.

"Let me ask you something. How much do you know about fairy tales?"


	2. Chapter II

**Blight**

**Chapter II**

With the arrival of night, the party of seven had set up camp for the night. Amber had decided that she could trust them well enough and the Wights and Emerald had figured it was best not to leave her alone in case something happened regarding their family or the Complex. It also was apparent that sticking close to Amber might not be a bad idea once they found out _exactly _what she was. The fact is, they were amazed that others existed that were as powerful as them. All of them wanted to know more about the Maidens and about this Ozpin person Amber talked about.

"I'm curious about the Wights." Amber began as the group sat around a fire. She had a bedroll set up already, though the Wights had no such convenience. "How exactly do your abilities work, if I might ask?" Utakata looked at her skeptically. "Oh, I don't mean to pry. Its just that, as you know, I'm on my way to meet Ozpin in Vale and I know you'd all like to meet him as well. If I have a better understanding of how you can use both Aura and Nether with such synchronicity, then I'm sure I could pique his interest dramatically more." The Sixth Wight said nothing. Naruto decided to take charge. Amber was beginning to wonder whether it was Utakata or Naruto who was in charge, honestly.

"How to start? Okay, well, I suppose it's not difficult to understand how we function. Essentially, our tails are an indicator. Gaara has one tail and so he was Infused with a single Grimm species. Yugito has two, so she was Infused with two species. Yagura has three, so he was Infused with three. All the way up to me, who was Infused with nine, the most out of any Wight.

"Each tail not only symbolizes a particular Grimm species, but also the abilities of that species. For instance, let's take Yugi over there." The blonde woman waved cheerily with a grin as she released her Wight form, allowing two cat tails to materialize. "Her First Tail is comprised of the Nether of a Hamelin, who grow stronger the more death there is in an area. Her Second is that of a Jynx, those Grimm whom bad luck seems to follow. She is able to control their individual abilities as if they are simply parts of her Semblance." When Amber seemed impressed, Yugito gained a smug grin.

"All that and she's the second weakest?" Instantly, Yugito deflated. Amber tilted her head at the sudden change in the girl. "Am I wrong? I had assumed that more tails meant more power. Isn't that the reason that Naruto is in charge despite his youth?" The brunette was taking a leap of faith in her assessment, but found it was true when the boy grinned. "I was right then."

"Well, seems that we're found out. Still, while I am the strongest of our little group, it's not just because I've got the most Nether." At this, the Fall Maiden was genuinely confused. "I was Infused with nine of the most terrible species of Grimm. In order to ensure I retained control, I had to have more than enough Aura to compensate." Amber widened her eyes as she understood what he said before he even uttered it. "Each of the Wights from Gaara all the way up to me have more Aura than any one human or Faunus is capable of producing naturally. It's because we have more than one natural soul. The additions to our genetics weren't for physical purposes. We were given the Aura of other failures, which were added to our own already immense reserves. Because we took on far more Aura than we might be reasonably expected to normally hold, our Semblances… changed. They didn't evolve, as Semblances usually do. I believe it's better to say we… Synthesized. All of our Aura signatures became as one through a painful process. The shared points overtook the extremities until where we began and where we ended up are completely different."

Looking at the Wights, Amber began to understand them a bit more. They were… actually a lot like her. All the power they had – or that she assumed they had – came at the cost of the death of others outside of their control. The biggest difference she could find is that while her death would mean a new host, these Wight were the only ones who had, or would have, these powers. It was a lonely lifestyle, being above humanity. The only ones she knew that were even close to her level were the other Maidens and Ozpin. She just hoped that there was nothing which would place them against her. It was so comforting knowing there were others like her. She just knew that she'd have to explain giving away her identity at some point or another…

The woman was surprised as the group stood as one, each brandishing weapons. Gaara pulled out a khopesh, Yugito had a shortsword, Utakata held a pair of large revolvers, Fuu's polearm was brandished with a halberd head and Naruto held a dagger. Emerald, Amber noticed, stayed where she was. Amber wondered what they could have sensed. The only thing she felt was… oh, that might be bad. "It's alright, you can hold off. He's with me." The Wights looked at her. "Really, you don't need to worry. Trust me."

The Wights lowered their weapons as a new figure emerged from the treeline. "I don't think I've seen anyone react so quickly to a bird before." The speaker was tall, with wavy black hair and a pair of red eyes. He wore a grey buttoned-up, black collared shirt under a white jacket with black pockets with a pair of black pants and a tattered, red cape. On his belt, a short sword was sheathed on his left side. "I'm actually impressed at your timing as well. So, Amber, why don't you introduce me to your… friends?"

Amber chuckled nervously before sighing. This came even quicker than she thought it would. "Well, these are some people I wanted to introduce to Oz. That's Gaara, Fuu, Emerald, Yugito, Utakata and Naruto. This is Qrow. He's my… what's the word?"

"Is he your handler?" Naruto wondered as he looked at the way Qrow carried himself. He seemed to stand in a way that looked casual, but Naruto noted would allow him to jump in to protect Amber if need be. The two looked at one another at the term. "That's what they called the people assigned to us meant to protect and keep us in line if anything happened."

Qrow regarded the boy with a bit more interest at the statement. Looking at his eyes he saw something that made him sincerely hope his nieces never mirrored. "I guess you could say that. More importantly, what would cause Amber here to take such an interest in you six?" Amber scratched her cheek sheepishly before coughing to get his attention.

"Well, I think I can explain…"

"Well, that's certainly… some story." Qrow muttered as Amber finished explaining things to him. The Wights were quiet as he thought. "I think that Oz will definitely like to meet all of you. I don't know who is responsible for what you've described to me, but I think that we need to find out. If someone has the capability of manufacturing beings on par with the Maidens… we have a problem."

"Oh, you won't need to worry about that." Fuu stated off-handedly. This caught Qrow's attention. "We're on our own level, to be sure. However, those Draugr aren't anything to worry about. They're basically humans with animal instincts, Grimm bone armor and a Semblance. They're far too easy to put down." Qrow looked at the girl as if she was insane. "What? Did I say something weird?"

"Ozpin is going to love every single one of you…" Qrow muttered with a slight grin. It would be amusing to see how he dealt with them, at any case.

**[Three Days Later]**

"Oh! Qrow, can we do it now?" Naruto wondered with incredible enthusiasm. To be perfectly honest, the blonde was starting to remind him of someone else. For all that power, he really was just a kid, wasn't he? That made the whole situation even worse, though. "I can feel it, they're so close! Please! I'm soooooooo bored!" Since they had left camp, the Wights and Amber had agreed to allow Qrow to lead them directly back Vale. It was only a day's travel from here. To be honest, he _was _growing curious at their abilities.

"You've been asking for a while… I guess." In an instant, the blonde was in his full Wight form. Qrow had to fight down the urge to _immediately _attack Naruto. There was so much Nether from just the one boy he almost thought he was in the center of a Nest. When he disappeared in a burst of speed to the left, Qrow looked at the others. "Are you not going to join him?"

"Naruto gets restless when there's nothing to do. I have no desire to get in his way and take this from him. To be perfectly honest, I dislike fighting in general." Gaara explained.

"They're Grimm, yeah. They aren't humans though, so I don't really care." Fuu was next. Qrow had noted the way the girl eyed him often. It was the same look of distrust he'd expect from Faunus. She was the only one of the Wights to give him that look though, so it shook him a little more than he'd like. What happened to her?

"What reason do I have to attack them? They have not promised harm to my brothers and sisters. There is little reason for me to hunt a pack of mindless beasts."

"What if there's a cute little mountain lion in the forest and I accidentally hurt it?" Yugito asked, genuinely confused. Qrow took a moment, but remembered that they were all experiments. It was likely they were tortured and traumatized as well. He really needed to see about getting the lot of them some therapy. It might do wonders to have a specialist help them out.

As the others traveled behind Naruto, he found what he was looking for. Standing on a cliff that overlooked a pack of what appeared to be Beowulves, he grinned. That was, of course, until he saw that they were approaching what appeared to be a lone girl standing at a gravestone. She seemed to be a little younger than him, if her stature and scent was any indication. Someone Gaara's age, but without his augmentations… there's no way that they could survive against a pack so large. Right? Still, it wouldn't do to terrorize such a person. Despite how much he disliked it, he Condensed his Nether until he lost his tails and jumped from the cliff straight into the snowy mountainside.

Dashing forward, the blonde palmed Kurama and held it backhanded. By the time the Beowulf in the rear heard him, Kurama had already torn through its neck and taken the first blood. The blonde felt a shift in the air pressure as his ears twitched and pivoted on his right foot to dodge the crunching jaws of another Beowulf. A crushing elbow drive into the spine of the offending Grimm before Kurama shifted into Matatabi, Yugito's weapon, immobilized the beast.

Matatabi was a shortsword with a segmented blade up to the point. One swipe and this beast lost its head as well. Taking a stance, the blonde grinned and swung the weapon while pulling a trigger on the hilt. The segments _clicked _and released, showcasing that Matatabi was actually a bladed whip with a speartip point. With a loud _crack, _Naruto hit one, two, three, four more targets and watched them explode from the sheer force behind each attack. Holding down the trigger forced the whip to retract, forming Matatabi's gladius form once more.

It was at this time that Naruto noted the appearance of the girl, who had slashed through several Grimm herself with a red and black scythe that was _much _larger than her own body. Looking at the weapon, the blonde allowed a grin to turn his lips up. He could _feel _the excitement running through himself and Kurama. A scythe-wielder… that was pretty rare, right? Kurama shifted out of Matatabi and into Choumei, using the partisan head.

Three Beowulf surrounded him in an effort to take him on at the same time. One pounced and received the polearm through the stomach for its troubles. Slashing upwards, Naruto adjusted his grip closer to the head. As he did so, the butt of the haft rose up and jabbed the throat of his next opponent. Kurama shifted again, this time into Saiken – the twin revolvers of Utakata. One shot of Fire Dust through the injured Beowulf, one of Ice Dust into the skull of the remaining one. Scarab came next and was immediately in its sickle form as he sidestepped the rushing girl, who landed next to him. "How's it going, Red?" He asked with a grin.

"It's Ruby, actually. I didn't think anyone else would be over here." She muttered.

"Naruto. I felt this pack and couldn't help but want to fight them." Gripping Scarab more tightly, he grinned. "There's really nothing like risking your life, adrenaline pumping through your veins. Don't you agree?"

"Heh… you'd get right along with my sister, Yang. Why are you here, anyways?" She wondered. "I mean, you'd have to be pretty close to sense these guys. They aren't even that old, from the looks."

"I've got a knack for finding trouble. Or maybe it's vice-versa. Oh well, in the end, it doesn't matter." As they spoke, the pack was closing in on them. They were hesitant though; to cause beings of such negative emotion to feel fear was truly satisfying. As the Grimm grew more terrified, Naruto could feel it. He _relished _on their feelings. For a Wight, they gained the Grimm's ability to sense negative emotions. Not only that, but each of them were able to _feed _on those same emotions. They grew stronger for it as well. The more negativity in the area, regardless of the source, the more powerful they became.

"Well, I guess we'll have to get out of this, won't we? Are you ready?" He grinned madly, while she gave her own smile. With a nod, they sprang into action. Jumping into opposite sides of the throng, the two teens acted quickly. While Ruby zipped around as if she weighed nothing, carrying around her heavy scythe to crush and slash, Naruto took a different approach. Each Beowulf that came across him found a different end. Scarab fired in its kusarigama form to tear several apart. Choumei ripped through the bodies of Grimm in partisan and halberd form. Shukaku would slash or fire through the lupine enemies. Saiken riddled holes with its Dust ammunition. Matatabi ripped bodies apart as they scattered into Dust. Each attack became a combo as Kurama constantly shifted form under the weight of Grimm in the area.

Finally, there was but one Beowulf left extant. Naruto grinned and rushed forward. Using his massive Aura to force him forward faster than he normally could, he felt Kurama shift back into its base form. The dagger ripped through its neck the same time that Ruby crashed down. Her weapon had shifted into a warscythe, with the blade pointed upwards like some sort of polearm. Spinning as she let gravity take her, she had sliced through its torso the same moment that he beheaded the beast. Dust exploded between the blows as the wolf became nothing more than a cloud of Nether, scattering in the winter winds.

"That was so fun!" Naruto exclaimed as he sheathed Kurama. "And that scythe is pretty cool, Red. Where'd you learn how to use it?" Ruby beamed at the compliment from the stranger she'd just fought Grimm with.

"My uncle taught me how to use it. I actually used to be trash before he took me under his wing. Now I'm all ka-chaa, ooh, haaa!" To emphasize her point, she made karate poses with each noise. This only served to make Naruto grin. "Crescent Rose is pretty great. What was that you were using though? It looked like you had a different weapon every hit." Naruto unsheathed his dagger, showing it to her.

"Well, this is Kurama. It's filled with Nether, the energy of the Grimm. Well, of a specific Grimm. It can change into the shape of any weapon it's touched before, just like that Grimm could change shape into any Grimm its killed before. The Nether has made it… almost alive I guess. While I can control what it turns into, sometimes it decides what it wants to be and I just use that." Ruby's eyes were filled with stars as she regarded a new weapon she'd never met before. "Who taught you to use Crescent Rose though? It's probably someone pretty powerful, right?"

"Oh, that's easy. It's my Uncle Qr–"

"That would be me, right?" Naruto grinned as he saw Qrow, Amber and his siblings approach. He stood proudly on the snow, which was now filled with more black powder than white. "Hey, squirt."

"Uncle Qrow! What are you doing here?" She wondered as she rushed forward in a cloud of rose petals. "Did you miss me? Did you miss me?" Ruby could now be found glomping her uncle, who grinned and patted her head.

"Nope." After a bit he looked at Naruto, then back at Ruby. "Well, I was taking some people, including Naruto here, to see Professor Ozpin at Beacon. They've got a pretty interesting story and I thought he'd enjoy talking to them." Ruby looked back at the blonde, who waved.

"Are you a Huntsman?" She wondered. He chuckled in response.

"No… not quite. Though, the thought isn't so bad. Hm… saving people with my powers from the Grimm? I wonder what that would be like." He grinned. "Well, we'll see. I don't know if I could ever do anything like that though. I'm just good for killing, after all." Ruby didn't get what he was talking about, but she didn't like how he referred to himself.

"Well, I'm going to be a Huntress so I can help people who need it. You helped me out here, so I think you'd be a great Hunstman! Ooh! We could even be on the same team and everything! How does that sound?" The Ninth Wight smiled at how naïve the girl was, but found that it wasn't so bad to have someone like that around. She had a pure, innocent smile. Maybe there was something worth protecting in this world after all. That innocence was something that was opposite to the Complex… yeah, that was an idea.

**[Beacon Academy]**

It took only another day of travel after the incident with Ruby to make it to Beacon Academy's outer grounds. As they got closer and closer to the Academy proper, Qrow began to speak. "I think it goes without question, but I'd like all of you to keep your Nether down to the bare minimum while we're here. We're still in the middle of the winter semester and these are Hunstmen-in-training. While I think having a small amount of Nether could go unnoticed, I'd like to take as little risk as possible under these circumstances."

"Don't worry, Qrow. We know what we're doing. The Complex trained us for covert missions right under the noses of Huntsmen, you know." Fuu pointed out. "Tricking a few teenagers will be nothing compared to that." Qrow sent the girl a look as she revealed that. Just what was this Complex and who ran it?

"Well… we should probably get back to Ozpin, right?" Amber interjected. Qrow sighed but nodded as he drank a sip from his flask. That was for the best. Once Ozpin got his hands on this, it was no longer his responsibility. Then he would only have one person to take care of, being Amber.

Walking further ahead, they finally arrived in the Courtyard. They passed the large fountain, which Utakata seemed to regard with something like curiosity. It took Yugito pulling the Sixth Wight away for him to stay with the group. "Hey, Qrow, who's that?" The man regarded what Naruto was pointing at for a moment.

"Oh, that statue." Standing at the front of the Academy's doors was a large marble sculpture of a man carrying a sword, pointing it towards the sky. Beside him was a woman with a double-headed battleax, looking to the side. They stood on a rocky outcropping with a Beowulf underneath it looking in the same direction as the man. "The man there in the robe with the statue is one of the previous Kings of Vale. The great Warrior-King Julius Bastet was the original founder of the four Academies. Beside him is the Fall Maiden of his time, Julia Mauve. The two of them were quite important in the founding of the Academies and were Beacon's first Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster."

"So, was she the one before Amber?" Gaara wondered.

"No, Julia was six Maidens before me. We don't… have a long life expectancy." She admitted. "The Maidens used to be well known across the world. After the Cataclysm that was caused by the birth of the Grimm, the first Maidens showed up. While we were meant to be Humanity's defense against the infestation not all of us were like that. Some of us were warlords, tried to carve out our own kingdoms. Humanity and the Faunus took those as examples of what the Maidens were capable of. We were hunted down whenever each incarnation was discovered. Only recently have we been able to live without worry. For most people, the Maidens are nothing more than a legend."

"Humanity always attacks what they don't understand." Amber was surprised to see it came from Fuu. "They despise what is stronger than them, destroy what is weaker and refuse to cooperate with those on even ground. They always look for any upper hand so they can take advantage and steal from others. The Complex is a prime example, and you've already explained what they did to the Maidens. Ascribing mistakes of someone else on the shoulders of a stranger who only tangentially shares one or two qualities is what I detest about them."

"Not all humans are like that." Qrow responded as they moved past the statue. She was sounding dangerously like some of the more extremist Faunus.

"The ones that matter are." She retorted. "The Schnee, the Councils, the Kings and Queens, the Generals and the politicians. You seem to get along with Amber, so I'm giving you a chance but only because she's like us." The raven-haired man felt the blind hatred the girl possessed rolling off of her in waves as she regarded the students. Just when he thought she might attack someone, she looked forward. It was at that point he realized he was a moment away from drawing Clockwork from its holster.

These children were going to be the death of him. Glancing at the Fall Maiden, animatedly talking with Naruto about something, he noted that she was part of that group. The quicker they found Oz, the better. Speaking of which, they were finally at the base of the Beacon Tower. Leading them inside and to the elevator, where they packed tightly to fit in one trip, they rode to the top. As it reached the zenith, the doors slid open.

"Well, this is certainly an… interesting surprise." The speaker sat at a desk, though seemed to be rising from his seat. He had tousled, silver hair with gray tips, and wore a pair of shaded spectacles on the bridge of his nose that protected a pair of brown eyes. His outfit consisted of a green turtleneck sweater with a cross pin in the center of his collar, an unzipped suit over a black vest with gold-colored buttons and a pair of black slacks. As he came out from behind his desk, the Wights noted that he walked with a cane. "I am Headmaster Ozpin. Who might these be, Qrow?"

Naruto walked forward, looking the man over once or twice before grinning. As he did so, one of his canines extended over his lip. "Naruto Uzumaki. That's Utakata Yuutei. The twins are Emerald and Fuu Sustrai. The other blonde is Yugito Nii. Lastly is the redhead, Gaara Sabaku. We're told that you'd be interested in hearing our story." Ozpin regarded the boy, then Qrow, who nodded.

"Well, I do enjoy stories. Please, continue." Ozpin had to admit his interest was piqued. If Qrow brought them all this way to tell him a story. What could they possibly have that would convince the stoic Fall Maiden's Handler to bring them in on such short notice?

"How to start this off? Well, I suppose since I can feel the immeasurable power emanating from you I'll say this. Just like you, we aren't human." He allowed just a touch of his Nether to leak, wanting to see Ozpin's reaction. When the man gripped his cane a little more firmly and narrowed his eyes, he grinned and retracted it. "Don't worry, we aren't Grimm either. We're Wights."

"What are these… Wights?" The older man pressed. The blonde could feel the confusion and anxiety emanating from Ozpin and it only caused him to grin. Those negative emotions, they _nourished _him. When he felt Emerald poke him, he calmed. No, that's what the people at the Complex wanted. He would not allow himself to become a Grimm and revel in the suffering of others.

"We were humans, at one point." Fuu explained. Her tone seemed… disgusted at that statement. "Then, we were kidnapped and taken to the Complex. Don't ask what it is, we don't know. That's just the name we gave it. It _was _some sort of military base where they performed biological experiments."

Gaara picked it up next. "Eight years ago, we were taken. At one time, we were packed so tightly sardines had more wiggle room. As time went on, they were taken. One by one, each of us were lost and replaced. The scientists, led by Dr. Yamato Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi, took them far too quickly for their replacements, however. They experimented with genetics, finding ways to cross humans, Faunus and Grimm in the worst ways possible."

"At first, they tried making humans and Faunus capable of using Nether." This was Utakata. "Unfortunately, they found that the amount of Aura necessary to keep the Nether at bay was much too high for most people. They created the Draugr."

"Draugr?" Ozpin wondered.

"We don't have any of those Scrolls you Huntsmen do." Emerald pointed out. "I can't show you a picture or anything. Imagine a humanoid mass of Nether with red eyes, bone armor and a constantly flared Aura around the entire thing. They're no longer human or Faunus, but they aren't Grimm either. It's a strange feeling, where the Aura and Nether mix to become something new." The verdette pursed her lips in thought. Yugito took it up next, while the Handler was thinking.

"As they did more experiments, the scientists figured out that the more Aura one had, the longer it took for the Nether to overtake the individual. I guess they figured that there had to be a point when the Aura overtook the Nether, but not so much that the Nether disappeared. The next phase of experimentation involved genetic splicing. Combining the genetics of humans and Faunus, but not in the same way the children of a human and a Faunus parent are. No, they found a way to hybridize the species, a happy medium."

"They then took members of this new species and injected them with the Nether of Grimm species." Naruto picked the explanation back up. "The species was strange. Always, they had a number of tails to signify the Grimm species infused into them and a minor, animal-like trait. My whisker marks, Gaara's eye markings, things like that. We are the Wights. These amulets we wear have a number of magatama that symbolize the number of tails we have."

"I am One-Tailed Gaara, the First Wight and Sandwurm."

"I'm Two-Tailed Yugito, the Second Wight and Lich."

"Six-Tailed Utakata, the Sixth Wight and King Slime."

"You're looking at Seven-Tailed Fuu, Seventh Wight and Swarm Queen."

"Lastly, I'm their leader. Nine-Tailed Naruto, Ninth Wight and the Lord Trickster." The blonde shook his head. "Of course, we're missing Yagura, Roushi, Han and Bee, so our little group is incomplete. That said, they'd probably just cause trouble so they're okay being off on their own for now. Until we can find them, anyways." Ozpin regarded the Wights, his curiosity unsated. On the contrary, the story raised far more questions than answers.

"I think… that I might like to ask all of you to remain here for a time longer. I have many things I'd like to uncover regarding the lot of you." Naruto shrugged. "Is that a yes?"

Naruto thought a moment about what had happened since they'd left the Complex before grinning. "I think it should be fun to see what happens from here. Plus, it's not like we have anywhere to go, anyways. Take good care of us, Headmaster." The silver-haired man smiled and nodded.

"Now, if you don't mind, I've got some things to discuss with Qrow and Amber. I will have something arranged for all of you, however. I'm sure you're all tired after traveling, so how about I have someone give you temporary lodgings in a hotel room for today until I can find something a bit more… permanent?"

"A bed sounds like Heaven!" Emerald exclaimed wearily.

**[The Bamboo Princess Inn and Tavern – Next Day]**

While everyone else slept, Naruto woke up nice and early. While he would've liked to sleep in, he could feel… _something_ that wasn't quite right. So, for that reason, he was up with the sun and had already found himself outside of the inn Ozpin had put them up in. The Bamboo Princess was a nice place, or at least, he thought it was. Compared to the Complex, sleeping outside was nice.

Outside of the wooden building, the blonde found himself face to face with the very man he was thinking of. "Well, hello there, Headmaster." Naruto greeted the man. Ozpin was silent a moment before he began walking down the road towards downtown Vale. Naruto waited a moment before following him. "Are they gone already?"

"If I am to assume you mean Amber and Qrow, then yes. The life of a Maiden is not a pleasant one. They must never remain in one place long, lest they reveal the existence of their kind. The legends of the Maidens stretch farther than almost any other. That means that while the likelihood of someone knowing their true nature is small… well, there's a saying. Even a nigh impossibility becomes a certainty given enough time in an equation. By constantly moving around, that possibility remains small."

"I feel like you have something else in mind for us." Naruto replied as he eyed the man. He saw his lips twitch ever so slightly as they continued down the path. "You'd like us to remain here in Vale. Perhaps even at Beacon proper. Of course, that's all a guess."

"Well, you are quite deft at guessing. Yes, I would appreciate it if I could convince you to keep the Wights and yourself here. I will not lie to you, Naruto. I am worried about many things regarding you and yours and feel it would be best if I could watch over you. I do not know what effects so many conflicting instincts could be having on the five of you. It worries me quite heavily what having just Aura and Nether in a single body is doing, let alone the conflicting natures of humanity, Faunus and Grimm on top of that."

The Ninth Wight didn't say anything for some time. Truth be told, what Ozpin said wasn't far from his own mind. Gaara was usually calm, but reveled in bloodshed. Fuu was reasonable, except when it came to humans. Yugito would not hesitate to murder anyone who spoke badly about felines. Utakata detested authority and would rebel at a moment's notice if anything went against his personal code. Each Wight was more stable than the last, but even he felt his Grimm nature trying him at certain points. The whole situation was stressful.

"We aren't exactly stable; it doesn't matter if you speak of emotionally or psychologically." Naruto stated. "I don't want to put others at risk, but I also can't help but want to use what I have for the benefit of others." The image of Ruby declaring he could make a good Huntsman brought a soft smile to his face. "I think it might be fun to be a Huntsman, but I doubt something like myself could do anything of the sort. I won't ask you to put your students in that much danger."

Ozpin couldn't help but sense that this boy had been through a lot. He didn't need to use any of his insight to tell that. "I think that you are powerful, if what Qrow told me was true. However, it seems you are also unrefined. You have enough raw power to take on many enemies but until all of it is turned into something more concentrated, more controlled, then you'll never be able to properly help others. The outpouring of power will always cause far too much collateral damage."

Naruto wasn't quite sure he wanted to believe what he was hearing from the man. It almost sounded like he was offering… to… no, he wouldn't. "Naruto Uzumaki, how would you like to attend my Academy next during the next semester? It is far too late in the current semester to allow you to enroll, but I think we can fit you in next time."

The blonde didn't know how to respond for a moment. Finally, he found himself grinning from ear to ear and nodded. "I would also like to extend the invitation to the others with you aside from Utakata, who appears a tad too old to be a believable student. Gaara, as well, is a bit too young. I think I can make arrangements for them as well, if they wish to become more refined in their styles. I simply need you, as their leader, to act as my emissary. Do you think you might be able to convince them to learn from my people? At the very least, keeping them in Vale would be largely beneficial."

It didn't even take a moment before he nodded and turned around, heading back to The Bamboo Princess. He had work to do. _Maybe we really will see each other, Ruby. Hm… I wonder if I'll be your upperclassman when we finally meet again? I think that might be interesting. I'll show you that I can be a Huntsman, just like you said. And I'll show that damn Complex that I'm more than a weapon. The Wights are more than tools. We're capable of so much more, dammit!_


	3. Chapter III

**Blight**

**Chapter III**

It had been about a week since Naruto had talked with Ozpin. It had been about a week since he'd discussed Beacon with the other Wights. While he was… disappointed not all of them agreed to it, he hadn't really though he would be able to. As it stood, he had somehow gotten Yugito to agree, but Fuu and Gaara disregarded the idea for different reasons. Seeing as how Fuu disagreed, Emerald also decided to not do it. Still, he was sure that Yugito and himself would have fun learning to become Huntsmen.

Fuu had insisted that there was no way she could take on a job where she'd be helping humanity indiscriminately. She'd continue to kill Grimm as she met them, but only because it would help her become stronger, help her stay strong enough to help the Wights. With that in mind, Emerald stated that traveling with Fuu would be better training than staying at a school all day. The two of them had left about three days ago. They'd at least waited for Ozpin to supply everyone with their own Scrolls though. It was nice having a way to contact his family.

Gaara had stated that he couldn't possibly join unless he was certain that Temari and Kankuro were safe and sound. With relative certainty that he could find his siblings, he also left. Along with Emerald and Fuu, he checked in every day to let Naruto know they were still safe. He knew they were more than strong enough to handle themselves, but he appreciated the call. It made him feel… was it something like security? Safety? Comfort? He wasn't sure, but it was probably something like that.

Utakata was still in the capital with Naruto and Yugito, but it wasn't because he wanted to have anything to do with Huntsmen. He was just tired of fighting, of using his powers. He wanted to just settle in and do something that didn't involve violence. Naruto was happy his family wasn't split any further, even if Utakata wasn't going to join him in a Huntsman's lifestyle.

Thus, Naruto found himself traveling around the city without a care in the world. He noted the looks some people gave him, but it didn't stress him. He was simply glad they _thought _he was just a normal Faunus. If they were busy noting his whiskers, they'd spend less time noting his Grimm attributes. While his Nether was concealed rather well, he knew that a skilled sensor could detect it without any issue. If people were distracted by one thing to hate him for, they wouldn't go searching for more stuff, after all.

Even with the looks, he wasn't worried about anyone. Everyone he'd crossed paths with while in the capital city, aside from Ozpin, that is, was so far away from him in terms of power that he didn't see any reason to, though. There was no reason to alter himself for people who were such non-threats. Tossing those thoughts away, the blonde smiled as he found the shop he was looking for: From Dust Til Dawn.

As he entered it, he couldn't help but look around with a grin. This shop was one of the best in town, according to Ozpin. It had both unrefined Crystals and purified, ground-down Dust Powder. There was so much he needed to buy. Not just here either, from various places around Vale. Ozpin had been nice enough to put them up in a three bedroom apartment in the middle-class area of the city and pay the rent for three months. He warned them that they should probably find a source of money by the time that ran out though. He also had left them with an amount of lien for food and other expenses until they did find something.

Given Utakata already wanted something non-violent he'd been looking around. He, currently, had two part-time jobs. He worked as a shopkeep's assistant for some place called Tukson's Book Trade as well as working as a cook at a joint called Crowbar. It amazed Naruto how quickly he found two different jobs, but Utakata simply said he had a nose for these things. He worked no less than four part-time jobs before he got kidnapped, even if the jobs changed quite often.

For now, Naruto just wanted to get some Dust for Yugito and himself. They both needed some, as the Complex didn't think they should have access to anything but a minimal supply of the stuff. It was probably a good idea, even if it didn't save them. As Naruto opened the door, he could hear a soft _ring _of the bell signaling his arrival. Walking in, he was greeted with something he didn't quite expect.

The shopkeeper looked pretty old. His face was extremely wrinkled and he couldn't even see the man's eyes. He wore an apron over everything and smiled at the boy, greeting him with a wave. That wasn't what surprised him though. There was a girl in here who had been browsing through various things behind the glass when he entered. She looked up to see who came in as they made eye contact. "Ruby?"

"Naruto?" In an instant, they both grinned and walked towards one another. "What are you doing here? Well, I mean, obviously you're here to get Dust. That was a dumb question. I meant why are you here in Vale? Wait, you were going to meet Ozpin, so obviously you'd be in Vale. I guess what I meant is..." Seeing the rambling girl try and find something, Naruto couldn't help but ponder. _She's really awkward with this kind of stuff, isn't she? It's like she's an entirely different person when she's not fighting._

Ignoring those thoughts, Naruto held up a hand. This quieted Ruby momentarily. "I'm living in the Capital now. Ozpin invited my sister Yugito and I to study at Beacon in the Fall Semester, and so we've got an apartment until that time comes." Ruby widened her eyes at that statement.

"You got accepted to Beacon? That's amazing!" Naruto smiled at her excitement for him. She was really different from all the other humans he'd ever met. Well, outside from Fuu and Gaara's siblings.

"He actually invited the rest of my family as well, but they declined. Utakata is still here in the Capital, but he just wants a quiet life so he's working at a shop. Fuu and Emerald left with Gaara to go find his siblings and fight strong Grimm along the way. So, it's just Yugito and me going in the autumn." Ruby heard the tone Naruto used and couldn't help but think it sounded… lonely.

"Hey, why don't I show you around? I don't live in Vale, I live on Patch. That said, I'm over here so often, I know all the best shops for anything you might want. So, how about it?" Naruto smiled and nodded as Ruby dragged him over to the counter to look at Dust. The red-hooded Huntress-in-training smiled at that. _That's better, he looked so sad. I suppose I'll hate it when Yang goes off to Beacon next year and leaves me behind, so I guess that's similar to what he's feeling. Naruto just needs a friend, and I'll keep his mind off the loneliness. A True Huntress helps everyone in their time of need, even if it's not related to the Grimm!_

**[Three Hours Later]**

Naruto felt… content. He was sure that was the word he'd use to describe this sensation. He wasn't stressed out, itching for battle or angry. He wasn't thinking about the best way to screw the Complex over. In fact, he wasn't sure that he was thinking about anything in general. The Ninth Wight couldn't remember the last time, if ever, he felt content to just exist. Was this how normal people felt on a daily basis as they did their errands, prepared meals, worked their jobs and spent time with their families? It was different than what he knew, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Ruby had helped him pick out some Dust to match both Yugito's and his style. Yugito would receive a supply of Fire and Lightning Dust while he would get Gravity, Wind and Ice. To be honest, Naruto had never used Gravity Dust before, it sounded like it could be fun. After they had left that store, Ruby began taking him around the Market District.

They visited The Best Defense, an armor shop, next. While there she had explained that she got all her clothing here. They had a special type of material you could give to a tailor to make your clothing. Any clothing made from it was not only extremely durable, but it was resistant to Dust and Aura-based attacks. Of course, they also had actual armor as well, but the added weight would throw off her style, so Ruby didn't use them. Her Semblance and fighting style required very precise measurements to be used effectively and she didn't want to have to relearn them.

Naruto decided to browse for a bit at this store. In the end, he picked out a new trench coat made of the fabric she told him of, a new pair of boots as well as put in an order for a few armored pieces. He didn't want to splurge his third of the funds so quickly, so it was best to put off getting them right now. He knew what he wanted to get when he got some more lien though.

Their third stop was a familiar one. Tukson's Book Trade was apparently one of the places that Ruby frequented. She enjoyed fantasy stories about heroes, monsters and princesses and wanted to get Naruto into reading. In the end, he appeased her by buying a copy of Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, The Tale of the Gutsy Shinobi and a compilation of novice-level Dust spells with various elements so he could learn from it later. He had never been able to learn any magic at the Complex, and it had always interested him. While there, he also re-introduced Ruby to Utakata, who was on shift at the time, given they didn't interact at all the last time he was with Ruby.

Finally, the stop before their current position, had been a supply shop for Huntsmen and soldiers of the Velian Armed Forces. The two of them mostly browsed around for anything they might want. Naruto was actually surprised to find that Vale Grimm Hunting Supply and Surplus had things he didn't even understand the purpose of until Ruby explained it. There were salves and poisons, ammunition and whet stones, oils and medicine, chemicals and grenades and all other manner of things that he wasn't able to properly memorize all of it.

In the end, he left empty-handed, but he would make sure to come back later for a few things he had some interest in learning how to use. Ruby ended up taking a few whet stones to replenish her depleting stock and some clips of ammunition for Crescent Rose. After that they had realized it was getting late and went somewhere to get some food.

That was how they ended up at The Muffin Man, a bakery that Ruby ensured was the _best _in all of Vale. She ordered several things and then showed Naruto to a table while they waited for their snacks. "So, how are you enjoying Vale so far?" Ruby wondered after they sat down. The blonde thought about it and smiled.

"I actually think it's pretty great." He admitted. "It's so much bigger than anywhere else I've been, but that's not saying much. Still, I definitely think I'm having fun today." Ruby smiled back, glad she was helping him.

"Where were you before Uncle Qrow brought you to Vale, anyways?" Ruby couldn't help but wonder. Naruto pondered on how to answer it but came to a rather sobering conclusion. He should tell her now what he was before they became friends. Otherwise, she'd just be in danger or feel betrayed later down the line. After all his missions, he knew the value of putting your trust in others and how necessary it was to be upfront with people you wanted to trust you.

As he had figured out what he was going to say, someone came by and dropped some cookies and milk off at their table. The plate looked more than big enough for both of them. Ruby immediately took one and savored its flavor as the blonde spoke. "Well, truth be told, I don't remember where I'm originally from except that it was somewhere in the Kingdom of Mistral. Before I met Qrow, I lived somewhere near the border of Vale and Vacuo though, in a place I call the Complex."

Ruby was about to grab a second cookie when she heard what Naruto was saying and kept her hunger in check. What he was saying sounded like it could be the start of a really good story. "Mistral is really far away from the border. How'd you end up there? Actually, why were you there?" Naruto thought about what she asked and smiled a bit sadly as he took one of the cookies and tasted a bite of it. Hm… these were actually pretty good. She was right.

"What I was doing there and why I ended up there are questions I still don't have answers to. If you'll listen, I can tell you what happened since I got to the Complex, eight years ago, though. I already told it to Amber, Qrow and Ozpin, but I think telling it one more time couldn't hurt." Ruby couldn't help but feel excited that she was going to hear something that interested her Uncle Qrow _and _Headmaster Ozpin. Was this the thing that made Ozpin decide to let Naruto in early?

"Mhm, I'd love to hear your story!" Her innocence was palpable to someone like Naruto, and he could only smile. He had decided it; he wanted to protect that from people like those at the Complex.

"It all began eight years ago, when an orphan from a city outside Mistral's Capital City woke up in a cell surrounded by dozens of strangers." Naruto began. "After they calmed him down, these strangers explained to the boy where he was, or where they thought they were. They called it, the Complex. It was a military-style institution that performed biological experiments in order to create the perfect weapon: a hybrid capable of using both Aura and Nether. That was their goal, and they were the subjects, the payment for attaining it."

The blonde watched as Ruby slowly realized what he was saying. She was still captivated, but her anticipation took on a different hue. He couldn't quite place it, but at least she didn't do anything drastic yet. "On the very first day, some of those strangers were taken away and more strangers arrived. Every time the cell, one of hundreds, was opened the occupants were subject to a form of knock-out gas to ensure they didn't try anything. Day in and day out, people were chosen for tests. None of them ever returned.

"Only after two years of becoming attached to those strangers and subsequently losing them, did the boy find it was his turn to become a test. At that time, he was… grateful his time had come. All the waiting, the constant meeting and losing of friends and the anxiety had finally got to him. He went in, fully prepared and content with the thought of death. However, the Complex wouldn't allow him even that. The test he was put through turned out to be a success."

"What do you mean, success?" Ruby wondered. She didn't want to interrupt him, but it just came out. She couldn't help it! Naruto smiled at the question and took a bite of his cookie, humming in thought. "Naruto?"

"Just as I told you, the Complex sought to create biological weapons. While they define their successes very rigidly, I'll explain everything they created to the best of my knowledge. The experiments could be divided into several categories. You had the Wraiths, the Spectre, the Revenant, the Draugr and the Wights.

"The Draugr are by far, the largest group of experiments because this is the category used for _every _subject they deemed a failure. They were formed by having far too much Nether injected into them, to the degree they lost their sapience. You can't even properly call them anything but beasts at this point. They aren't human or Faunus, but they're not Grimm either. Grimm with Aura and Semblance… Grimm with souls.

"Then there's the first group of _successes_. The Spectre are humans who were given just enough Nether to cause noticeable changes, but not enough to turn them into Draugr. They grow stronger around Negative Emotions, can sense them, have some ability with Nether manipulation and are able to grow and retract bone armor in addition to whatever Semblance they have. These were the experiments who had very strong souls and large Aura reserves.

"The Wraiths were much different. Out of every hundred would-be Draugr, a Wraith is born. This is the rare occurrence where their Nether pool and Aura reserves streamline into a single energy source. You might think of them as having an… anti-soul. They're more Grimm than human or Faunus, but with all the cunning and intelligence of their previous self. They don't have the ability to use bone armor, but they have a large affinity to Nether manipulation and revel in the negative emotions of others, actually able to sustain and heal themselves using it.

"Lastly, you have the Revenants. Their Nether pool manifested in a… strange way. Instead of affecting them, their Aura counterbalanced it and keeps all of their Nether outside of themselves. It causes Grimm to be attracted to them. At the same time, they're capable of commanding Grimm like soldiers in an army. More precisely, like bees in a hive."

"I thought you said there was a group called the Wights?" Ruby asked. Her quick response told him how intently she was listening to him. The fact that she was so enraptured implied many things. Thankfully, she didn't show any sign of hating him.

"Yes, that's my group, my family. I'm their leader. The nine of us were the answer to the problems Draugr posed. If there was only more Aura, then the Nether could be increased. If both of them were cranked up, then wouldn't the result be far stronger than the Spectre? The short answer is… yes, yes we are. By altering our genetics to be both human and Faunus and then injecting us with the Aura of the Draugr, they were able to push our Nether reserves far higher than they imagined."

"But, Naruto, you don't… seem like a Grimm. You don't even feel like one. You're… kind of warm. I mean, your Aura! Your Aura has this warm feeling, like a campfire!" Ruby quickly corrected herself with a light dusting of red on her pale cheeks. The blonde smiled at how awkward the girl was, but nodded.

"I'm restraining my Nether down to a level where most people can't detect it. I daresay even Ozpin and Qrow weren't capable of feeling it. I can't exactly hide my Aura at the same time though. It's one or the other with me. I suppose that's not really the point though. About the first thing you said though, I'm not a Grimm. I'm not human. I'm not Faunus. I'm a Wight. I'm so far apart from anything that exists that I'm not sure if anyone would accept me. If you don't want to be friends, then I get it. I'm still going to become a Hunstman though. If I can be a thorn in the Complex's side, then I think I can be happy." Ruby had an expression on her face that was hard to read, but it was generally negative.

When she finally spoke, Naruto was ready for the inevitable. It never came. "Why?" He looked at her as she asked that. "Why would you think I'd stop being your friend over something that you didn't do? You don't agree with what they did and you want to help others with what came at the sacrifice of others. You didn't even ask them to sacrifice themselves for you. You aren't a monster. I think that makes for the hero of a really good story that people will tell for a long time." Naruto didn't understand why what Ruby said make him feel more of that contentment, but it did. Hm… why did the air suddenly taste like salt? Why did his face feel so warm? "D-don't cry, Naru, I wasn't trying to upset you." Oh… that's why.

Wiping away the tears, the blonde grinned. "Sorry, that's never happened before. I mean, I've cried before. I more meant… crying for something other than pain." He noted that they didn't really stop, even when he noticed it. Focusing on holding them back, he finally was able to get it to a point that he was happy with. "Sorry, I don't know why that happened." Ruby just smiled, looking at him. Pushing his emotions down, the boy wiped his eyes one last time before matching her smile. "Where was I? Oh, I don't even remember."

"What's this? Are you on a date, little sis?" Immediately, the hooded girl lit up like some sort of tomato as she heard the voice and noticed the situation. "I came to look for you and figured you'd be here, but you're with a boy on top of that? Oh! Cookies and milk, I didn't know you were that serious. I'm Yang, Ruby's big sis. Who might you be?"

The girl he looked at seemed so far away from Ruby that it was difficult tothink she was telling the truth. She was tall with violet eyes and long, sun-golden hair down her back, a cowlick sticking up at the top. She wore a brown jacket that exposed her midriff over a yellow crop top, a pair of golden bracelets over black, fingerless gloves and an orange scarf around her neck. In addition, she wore a pair of black mini-shorts with a brown belt and a pleated piece of material hanging off of its side, a pair of brown, knee-high boots with orange, over-the-knee socks, the right one pushed to below the knee. Around her left leg, below the knee, a piece of purple cloth was tied around her leg. From her boisterous attitude and confident smirk, he highly doubted she had any of Ruby awkwardness.

"Ah… my name is Naruto. I didn't know this was a date. Is that what usually constituted one? I thought that she was just showing me around town and we were getting something to eat?" Yang's grin grew even wider as he spoke, somehow.

"You're even more innocent than Ruby! Oh, that's too adorable! I like him, sis. He's definitely a keeper!" Naruto tilted his head in confusion, genuinely not understanding what she talked about. The action only seemed to make the older girl squeal and clap her hands once. "Be careful Ruby, or someone might take your new boyfriend away." Looking over Naruto once more, she smirked. "Oh, he's like a little puppy, lost and alone."

"Er… a fox, actually." He responded to the fellow blonde.

"Even better!" The Ninth Wight did not understand how two sisters could be so different. Then again, his only reference was Emerald and Fuu. He couldn't really imagine that they were the picture of normalcy in any standard. "So, how'd you two meet?" Given Ruby seemed to have entered some sort of embarrassment coma by having her sister arrive and make all of these insinuations and accusations, he answered.

"I was passing through the Kingdom with Ruby's Uncle Qrow on my way to meet Headmaster Ozpin when I felt a large Nether signature. I had been bugging Qrow for several days to let me fight Grimm and he finally gave in. I found a large pack of Beowulves in a forest and began fighting them when I noted that Ruby was also down there. I believe she was visiting her mother's gravestone and was on her way back." Normally, Naruto wouldn't be this formal, but it was something the Complex had forced him into, a habit of nature. When in doubt about the party you're speaking to, be polite and cordial, follow all the formalities of the region you're in and it'll be better for you.

"That… is exactly like Ruby." Yang lost all of her teasing atmosphere and chuckled. "She met you while fighting Grimm and then showed you around town. Still, I'm glad she's making friends and going on a date."

"It's not a date, Yang!" Ruby finally found her voice by exclaiming that. Then she looked at her not-date to see his reaction almost immediately. Yang grinned again while Naruto just seemed as confused as ever. Ruby seemed to calm when the boy didn't take offense, but it only caused Yang to regain her previous aura. Whispering something to the girl, Yang caused her sister to light up once again. Naruto didn't hear what it was, but judging by his friend's reaction there were a few guesses he might have.

Looking from one to the other, Yang smirked. "I'll let you two get back to your date. No more third wheel Yang to deal with. Have fun alone you two~!" Ruby was silently steaming in a storm of her own thoughts while Naruto watched Yang leave. _What a strange girl. Are Yang and Ruby really related? They don't seem similar at all. Hm… but Kankurou and Gaara are very different too. Emerald and Fuu are alike in most ways though. Is it different because one pair are brothers and the other are sisters? Or are Emerald and Fuu the odd ones? I really do wonder sometimes._

"N-Naruto?" The girl finally spoke up. The blonde met her silver eyes. "Did you think it was a date?" The question threw him off-guard. Why would she ask that sort of thing? Was it a date? Hm… he wasn't sure. Still, it was probably something important to her.

"It felt like it could've been one. I had a lot of fun shopping around with you and I really like the food. I've never had sweets before, but I see why you like them. I really enjoyed your company." He smiled to the girl, who just became a deeper shade of red until she matched her namesake. That said, she had the largest smile on her face he'd ever seen. He didn't quite get it, but she seemed happy. That meant he was did something good… right?


	4. Chapter IV

**Blight**

**Chapter IV**

"Do you think this is far enough away from Vale, Ruby?" Naruto wondered. Currently Naruto, Ruby and Yugito were traveling away from the capital of Vale in a group. The hooded girl thought a moment before nodding. This caused the two blondes to grin in unison. The Rose wondered if she _might _have made a mistake coming with them.

It had been a whole month since Naruto and Ruby went on their 'date' and they had spent quite a bit more time together since then. Every weekend she came up to Vale City to meet up with him. This weekend Yugito had invited the girl and Naruto to help her get control over one of her abilities. Ruby hadn't been able to witness any of the Wight's powers yet, so she was actually looking forward to it.

"Alright, Yugi, go ahead." Naruto told her. Ruby bore witness as _something _surrounded the blonde girl. It wasn't something she could see, hear or smell, but she _felt _it. It was as if… it was as if all of the negativity in the world had condensed itself inside Yugito and was demanding to be let free. As she swirled with the mysterious energy that Ruby was both surrounding her and non-existent, it suddenly stopped. One moment Yugito appeared normal. The next, she now had two cat tails, three-inch long nails, longer canines and her pupils had become slit like that of a cat.

"That's better! It's been _so _long since I've been able to do this! I was starting to get jealous of Gaara and Fuu, you know. I don't know how Utakata can be so content with being stifled _all the time_." Ruby had to fight down the urge to attack what felt like a Grimm. Her hand was already on Crescent Rose by the time she realized what she was doing. Naruto noted this, but said nothing.

"Wh-what are we helping you with again?" Ruby wondered. She didn't stutter from fear. She had her Semblance and her weapon, there was nothing to fear from any Grimm. It was out of the strain of ignoring her instincts. She finally got it under control though. "I think you said something about hexes?" Yugito shook her head.

"Yugito has two Tails and her Semblance." Naruto explained. "Her First Tail – Crypt Keeper – grants her a boost to all of her abilities if there are any corpses in the area. The more dead bodies surrounding her, the more powerful she becomes. Jynx, her Second Tail grants her the ability to increase the chances of bad things happening. Then her Semblance is Cat's Cradle. By infusing her Aura into organic life that doesn't have a soul anymore, she can control them like puppets. It's kind of like the necromancer from one of those stories you told me last week." Ruby nodded. Was it wrong of her to think that the Wights were cheating?

"I need help with Jynx right now." Yugito explained. "For some reason, my Nether pool acts up when I try to use Dust Magic and Jynx for a combo. I don't really get it, but it really makes me mad that I can't even do something as simple as make someone trip while there's Fire Dust on my clothes."

"Personally, I think that Dust acts as a buffer to Nether." Naruto explained. "We just need to figure out if that's the case and how we can overcome it." Ruby nodded. From what she knew of Dust, that made sense. According to legend, Dust was discovered as the only way to kill Grimm. The Grimm and Dust were opposites, with Dust overtaking Nether in terms of power – if the legends were to be believed. "The only problem is, we can't do the tests we want to inside the capital. Or near any settlements, for that matter. If we were to do it, and Yugi lost control of Jynx… Let's just say that she was the one to initiate our escape for a reason." Ruby looked at the older girl and saw her grin widely. She couldn't help but shiver.

"What sort of tests are we going to be doing, anyways?" The scythe-wielder wondered. When Yugito grinned like some sort of Cheshire cat, it only made her regret her decision that much more.

**[Several Hours Later]**

While the Ninth Wight watched his sister and friend spar, he felt a familiar signature approach. Ruby and him had switched off sparring with Yugito in an effort to force her to use Jynx despite her Dust coating. More accurately, they wanted her to be able to use it in battle in tandem with her Fire and Lightning Magic. They couldn't exactly test it with her Semblance, though, which was unfortunate.

"Well, this is certainly not the scene I had expected to see when I came here." Ozpin stated with a mysterious look in his eyes. He was hard to read as ever. "Usually, if I felt so much Nether and Aura being thrown around this close to Beacon I'd send one of the instructors to investigate and neutralize any threats. With the… sensitive nature of your group though, I figured I'd personally see to this. After all, I still don't know what you would like me to do about the Wights' identities."

"Personally, I don't care." Naruto replied without missing a beat. "I can't speak for my brothers and sisters, but I don't care who you tell about me. For me, nothing has changed. I'm on a mission, and I will succeed regardless of what obstacles there are. Human, Faunus, Grimm; there's no difference for me." Ozpin noted that this person seemed different from the grinning, mischievous person he'd spoken to a month ago. No, that wasn't quite right. This was just a different side to him. It was just like Qrow, but in such a young boy. It made him remember why he did what he did.

"What _is _your mission?" The silver-haired man wondered. Naruto looked at the spar before smiling when his eyes fell on his first friend. Ozpin noted that and filed it away for later.

"I want to be… a hero. I was made as a weapon. I have the powers of a monster. I don't care what the Complex did to me, but I'm going to crush them. Every move they make, I'll ensure they fail. I want to use my power to protect the innocent of the world. I was told that even someone like me can be a hero and I'd like to do my best to prove her right."

"Hm…" The Headmaster hummed before smiling softly. "It seems things are getting interesting indeed. I'll do my best to train you for what you want to do. If nothing else, I think leaving the matters of the Complex in your hands when it comes down to it will not be out of the question. With that said, I'm sure that Glynda is becoming quite anxious given I'm nowhere to be found. I shall see you later, Naruto. Oh, and whatever it is you're doing, good luck." The blonde nodded as he was once more alone. He noted that Ruby was panting a bit and signaled Yugito to stop.

"Are you alright, Ruby? Your Aura feels like its getting pretty weak." The ravenette nodded, though she was leaning on her scythe a bit. "I'll take the next round, if you need a break."

"Thanks, Naruto. I've never met someone who could keep up with me like that. Not even Uncle Qrow was that quick to react to my attacks. How did you do that, Yugito?" The blonde grinned.

"I can hear the air splitting faster than any human and feel your Aura whenever you initiate a burst of speed." The hooded girl mumbled something about cheating cats as Naruto chuckled and took a stance with Kurama. "Are you ready, Yugi?" With a nod, they began.

**[The Complex]**

"If I am to understand you correctly, _all _of the Wights escaped from our facility? Not only that, but several hundred of our Spectre were killed in this escape and you have no idea where any of them have run off to? What, if you don't mind me asking, am I supposed to tell the Leader?" The speaker was a pale-skinned man with bright, red hair and crimson eyes. He wore a full-length cloak robe around his body that matched his hair in terms of shade and color as well as a passive, almost bored look on his face.

"I don't care _what _you tell Nagato." A second man responded venomously. He was even paler than the first with slicked, black hair and a pair of yellow eyes. He wore a tan tunic and light brown pants with a purple rope-like bow tied around his waist. Hanging from that was a katana. "In fact, I don't care what you do, Sasori. I'm busy trying to rebuild this place with what manpower I have left. Instead of criticizing, why don't you do your job and find my pets?" The redhead frowned at the tone, but didn't comment on it.

"You know that Nagato will probably cut your funding after this incident, don't you? Even the great biologist Dr. Yamato Orochimaru can't function without all of that funding that our Leader gave you. I'm not going to help you out this time. If you don't want things to get dry, you better locate at least one of them and you might want to do it soon. I'm sure that it won't be long until Zetsu or Konan informs him, if they haven't already." Orochimaru clicked his tongue in annoyance, but knew that Sasori spoke truthfully. He needed to capture one of them, but there wasn't any one individual under his command with enough firepower to capture even Gaara alive. Dust help them if they came across Yagura or Bee.

"I'll figure something out. You just keep the others off my back." Sasori nodded once before turning around and walking away. Still, the good doctor needed to figure out something and he needed it quickly. He would _not _lose his funding over some uppity animals and their supposed freedom. They were Nagato's personal toys and _his _pets. He would show them who the master was and make them understand exactly what happens to disobedient animals.

The grin that Orochimaru wore on his thin lips struck terror into even the Draugr who surrounded him. He didn't even notice it though. His thoughts preoccupied him far too much to care about things that weren't even worthy of being called cattle.

**[Vale Kingdom – Red Coast]**

Several hundred miles to the north-north-west of Vale City lies a piece of the Kingdom's coastline marked with red and black sand, not brown. This is the Red Coast, home to no less than three Nests of Grimm so large in size that the most the Huntsmen can do is restrain their spread, but not actually exterminate them. A relic of the Great War, the Red Coast had neither grown nor shrunk since the Treaty signed at Vytal. Beacon ensured it didn't spread, but the reason for its inability to be destroyed was unknown, even to their Headmaster.

The Red Coast was full of fear and rage, as it always had been, but it was different now. Instead of the usual permeation of negative emotions that a Nest might have, these seemed to come directly from the Nest itself. The Grimm were afraid and _something _was enraged. It felt like it could have been Grimm, but also as if it was different. It was superior.

It was the Third Wight. Yagura Karatachi, the Abyss, looked to be as young as Gaara and Ruby, but was actually the same age as Utakata. He had light brown hair, purple eyes and a stitch scar running under his left eye down the length of his face. His outfit consisted of a black vest over a mesh, short-sleeved shirt and a green scarf over his shoulders, as well as around his waist. Above that was a teal sash while under it was a pair of black pants. In his hand was Isobu – a club with a large hook atop it and a much smaller one on the butt end.

As he walked through the Red Coast, his violet eyes were filled with an ancient kind of rage. A Beowulf attempted to rush him, but lost its head to the larger hook. Yagura didn't even slow down or look at the beast, he just swung Isobu. These _monsters _were beneath him. He needed to find the others. He couldn't stand being around such corruption as the Grimm, or even the Faunus, and he would make sure they were exterminated. His family was the only light in this dark world, and he would protect it from the forces of corruption no matter what.

__He was shaken from his thoughts as a Wyvern flew overhead, swerved around, and began to dive at him. Filthy beast, thinking it could break his train of thought. Holding one hand out, Yagura activated his turquoise Aura and manipulated the humid, sea air. As he did so, it condensed into saltwater and formed a spear that easily measured over five meters long. Pointing at the Grimm, he watched as it pierced along the Wyvern's entire, serpentine body and came out the other end. He never stopped walking at his pace even as he did that. These creatures were beneath him, after all. He was the Abyss, lord of all that roams the seas and lies in darkness. These creatures of Nether were using his power and trespassing on his coast. Just as all the human and Faunus who got in his way were taken care of this last month, so too would these Grimm be.

**[Somewhere in Vacuo]**

Unlike their siblings, another group of Wights had traveled west from the Complex as well as two humans tagging along with them. The first among these Wights had four, red monkey tails and wore a necklace with four magatama hanging from it. Roushi, the Catastrophe, stood taller than most of his siblings and had a top knot of red hair that connected to his full, red beard by similarly colored sideburns. Black eyes were framed by a steel helmet he wore, though it lacked a visor. He wore a set of samurai-styled segmented armor made of steel, a chainmail shirt under that and a long-sleeved shirt and pants of a deep purple under that. Strapped to his back was a steel brick attached to a steel staff, though Roushi would call it a hammer.

Next in line was Han, Spirit of the Steaming Waters. He stood taller than even Roushi and was broader in the shoulders on top of that. It was difficult to make out much about him given he was wearing armor as well. The difference was that Han's red segmented armor covered every inch of his body, even a mask that came up to cover his nose and mouth. Atop his head was a sugegasa with cloth trailing down to cover the sides of his face so only his red eyes were actually visible. Around his neck was a necklace with five magatama hanging from it while five, slender tails of snow white trailed behind him that seemed to be from some aquatic creature.

Last among the Wights was Killer Bee, the Shepherd. Unlike the others, he had dark skin more common to the desert people of Vacuo. His bleached hair was tied back in cornrows while his eyes weren't visible due to the shades he wore. Around his neck, he had a white scarf and over his torso was a piece of white-colored armor without a shirt beneath it. To finish off his outfit, he wore a pair of black pants and a grey cloth tied around his waist. Eight tentacles were sprouted from him in place of tails while his necklace was adorned with eight magatama. Finally, he had a guandao strapped to his back.

In addition to them were Gaara's siblings and handlers. Temari was a blonde the same age as Yugito with her hair tied up in four ponytails and a pair of teal eyes that seemed to constantly scan the environment. She wore a black kimono tied with a similarly dark obi, though the inside was colored purple. Strapped to her back was what appeared to be a large club.

Her brother, Kankurou, somehow didn't sweat despite wearing a black body suit. His hair wasn't visible due to that, but he had a pair of black eyes. He didn't seem to be carrying a weapon of any sort but he looked no less dangerous than any of the other members of his party. "You know those guys are still following us, right?" Kankurou commented. The only reaction he gained was a glance from his older sister as the quintet was sitting at an oasis to get some water. "I don't feel anything aside from them though, so I don't think they were sent by Orochimaru."

"If we attack them here, then there will be a trail to follow. We haven't strayed far enough away from the base." Han explained. "I think we should get a bit farther before we make a move." Bee looked agitated at that.

"Come on, don't be that way, it's been so long since I could play! We waited long enough, I say. You said the same thing yesterday!" Glancing at the grown man who spoke in rhymes, also known as Bee, they mostly ignored him.

"While he is an idiot, I think Bee does have a point." Roushi stated. "If we wait much longer, they might receive reinforcements. Even if they weren't sent by Orochimaru, there's a chance that Kabuto did. If that is so, we don't want him to send a second string and have to deal with two contingents of their forces. On top of that, they're not attacking. It seems like they're just waiting and I'd rather be proactive about this instead of having to react to an ambush." Han looked at his brothers, then to the humans who nodded their assent.

"If I am outnumbered, then I think we must do it. Alright, let us finish getting our water refilled and then we will attack." Bee grinned and pulled out his guandao.

**[Mt. Aupero]**

Three days south of the Red Coast, by foot, Yagura found himself at a new location. One of the mountains – the smallest of nine – that made of the White Curtain of Vale, was known as Mt. Aupero. Yagura trekked the paths up the mountain. He had caught wind of a familiar signature. He knew each and every one of his sibling's Nether signatures by heart. It was faint, but he had found Naruto's. More accurately, it was Kurama that he had sensed. It was very faint and if he hadn't specifically been looking for it, he doubted he would have felt it. If Naruto had been any less powerful that he was, it would have disappeared already. It was fortuitous he had traveled through at just that time. Based on the direction the trail was going, he imagined that Naruto – and whoever was with him – had gone through these mountains.

While he didn't particularly care, Yagura knew that Naruto wouldn't want him to reveal the Wights' locations. For that reason – and that reason _alone _– he had suppressed his Nether down and hid his tails. That had brought up a new issue, however. Now people that he passed on his journey mistook him for a filthy Faunus. Like right now, with these half-castes. They claimed to be humans, but Yagura could plainly see the animal descent of them.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, bastard!" Yagura lost his train of thought as one of the roaming thugs yelled in his general direction. Turning his eyes to meet those of the lowly tribal, he couldn't help but sneer. His Aura reeked of greed and petty anger. As it stood, Yagura was surrounded by a band of the nomadic bandits but couldn't care less. They might as well not have even existed. "Are you going to hand over that weapon and your necklace, or are we going to have to take them?" Yagura narrowed his eyes. So these _things _thought they could possibly take what belonged to a Wight?

"If you think you can touch the Abyss, then look into it." Yagura spoke cryptically. While he wanted to release his Nether… Naruto wouldn't like it. He would hold back, but only because he didn't want the Huntsmen alerted to his location. With that in mind, he pulled Isobu off of his back and took a stance. The tribesman seemed surprised that a single traveler would think to fight all of them, but they seemed more than happy to comply. All of them wore the same Grimm masks that the ANBU back at the Complex did, but it would be a quick matter to find out whether they were of the same caliber.

As the first three rushed him, he kept his defenses up. He sidestepped the heavy swing of a mace and used the smaller hook on Isobu to pull it from the owner. With a twist, it was released and smashed into the chest of another of the oncoming tribesman. The third, who wielded a broadsword, thought to hit him in the back while he was occupied. Yagura kicked behind himself, hitting the man in the stomach and causing him to double over. In one motion, he had Isobu's larger hook wrap around the man's throat and pulled. The sharpened edge removed the connection between his head and torso. As blood sprayed from his throat, Yagura flared his Aura. The crimson liquid stopped midair and surrounded him in the form of a red mist that spread out three feet in each direction. The entire bout had taken the matter of two seconds.

At the sight of such a quick dispatch of their brethren, the other tribesman seemed a bit more hesitant to fight. "Fight him, you cowards!" This time it wasn't that same male voice that demanded it. Now it was a woman's voice. She spoke in such a commanding tone that Yagura imagined she had to be the leader. She seemed to be dressed in a red robe with a black sash keeping it tight around her, onyx hair loosely hanging down to her waist and a full-faced Grimm mask over her face. On her hip was a strange weapon. It appeared to be a nodachi, but the scabbard looked like it had some sort of revolver mechanism like Bee's guandao. Interesting.

At her words, the others seemed to fall in line. It wasn't three that rushed Yagura this time; it was a high enough number that he couldn't actually count them. That said, it may as well have been one that rushed him for all he cared. His feet moved quickly enough that he wasn't hit by the amateur styles of these idiots while each movement of Isobu made lethal contact. His Bloody Mist grew in volume the whole time as well and he could feel himself getting that much stronger with each addition to it.

He didn't murder all of the tribesman, but at some point, they stopped arriving to act as sacrifices for his fog. His Mist wasn't even thick, but obscuring their vision isn't why he had used the technique. The leader stepped forward then. Yagura was surprised that she didn't reek of anger or hatred like the others. She simply looked upon him with something along the lines of… Positive emotions were a bit more difficult for him to sense, but it seemed like curiosity. "Who are you, young one?" She wondered.

He didn't lose his stance or do anything with his Mist, but did answer. "I am Yagura Karatachi." He kept his eyes on her, but that didn't mean he was defenseless. He was one of the most dangerous Wights despite having only one-third the power of Naruto because he was the _best _at sensing negative emotions. The woman before him had none, but her followers were exuding enough fear to make him wonder if Grimm would show up within seconds.

"My name is Raven Branwen. I am the Khan of the Red Horde. You're very powerful and I think you'd make a wonderful addition to my roster. What do you say?" Yagura narrowed his eyes at the woman and pointed Isobu at her.

"I know nothing of you, but I do know that I have to find my siblings. I refuse to allow anything to keep me from that. Not the Grimm, not the villages I passed on my way here and not your tribe." Raven seemed to perk up as he mentioned the villages.

"Were you the one to raid those villages to the west and south?" Yagura only looked at her. "You certainly have a talent for this. I do think I'd like to recruit you even more now. How about I make you a deal then? I'll help you find your siblings if you come along with me, at least for a time? I know the White Curtain and the White Steppes of Vale better than anyone else. If anyone could help you find them, it would be me." Yagura narrowed his eyes at her. "I mean you no harm and I am not lying to you. The nature of our lifestyle ensures only the strong survive. If I can gain someone as strong as you in exchange for those men and women, then I think it was a fair trade."

"What would you ask of me, if I _did _say yes?" Yagura wondered. He was curious about this woman, but he didn't lower his defenses.

"Nothing that you don't already do, if my assumption is correct. I want you to help us raid villages, kill any Grimm that get in our way, kill any resistance to us whether they are within or without the Horde and ensure the settlements we visit understand they are inferior to us in every way so they'll hand over supplies immediately. Does that sound good enough? In exchange, I'll help you find your siblings and perhaps give you a little training. I can see the power behind you, but I think you could be stronger with refinement." Yagura lowered Isobu ever so slightly, but Raven took it as a victory.

"Alright, Raven. I will accompany you but if anyone gets in between my siblings and I, then I won't hesitate to end them. I want you to know that." The masked woman nodded and approached him. She held her hand out, which Yagura shook

"Welcome to the Red Horde, young one. I think you'll like it here."

**[Kingdom of Vacuo Outskirts – Nexus Oasis]**

The Wights and their human companions had finished refilling some time ago. They had waited for their followers to arrive, and finally it had paid off. It was with recognition that they noted the leader amongst the opposing group. "Well, if it isn't Jiroubo." Temari commented drily as she looked upon the large Spectre. It seemed that he was the sole Spectre, but there were several dozen Draugr, three Revenant and hundreds of Grimm following him. "Honestly, I have no qualms about this." Taking the club off of her back, Temari unlatched the end of it and opened it fully to reveal it was an oversized fan. With a heavy swing, the winds behind it rushed forward and picked up the desert sand.

Even as the dust devil hit some of the Grimm, they exploded into Nether. Jiroubo only then seemed to notice the group at the oasis and sneered. "Get them! Orochimaru will surely reward us if we can get even one of them!" As they attempted to rush forward, they were only met with three more whirlwinds carrying sand. The Grimm didn't stand much of a chance, and even the experiments felt the cutting edge of the winds coupled with the grinding of sand against their unprotected flesh.

"Are you gonna save any for us, sis?" Kankurou wondered idly. The blonde folded her fan back up and gave him a look. "I'm just saying, maybe we'd like to do something. Even if it _is _an underwhelming force. Maybe we should have waited for them to receive reinforcements after all." As the boy spoke, his Aura flared up and he thrust his hands out, fingers straight and pointed at the crowd of Jiroubo's forces. Six of the Draugr went rigid before he flexed his fingers and had them start attacking the other Draugr.

"Stop it, you idiots!" Jiroubo shouted at the Draugr. He knew that they were mindless beasts, but couldn't they do this after he had one of the Wights? Damn it all to hell! Jiroubo, who had never interacted much with Kankurou, didn't know that this was Kankurou's Semblance – Dancing Strings. Thanks to it, he was able to take control over things with a weaker Aura than him. Given these Draugr's Aura was suppressed by their Nether, it didn't matter how strong they were – his refined Aura would always outmatch them.

With each Draugr that Kankurou lost, he simply took another. As the larger part of the forces were kept busy, Han and Roushi stayed back to allow Bee his fun. With Gyuki, his guandao, in hand, he rushed into the remaining enemies. The handle of his weapon looked to have a dust revolver function that began spinning according to his Aura until the entire weapon glowed a deep, burning red. The first Revenant was easily bisected with the heat of the weapon and the immense strength that Bee brought to bear.

The second and third Revenants, having lost their Grimm hives, resorted to Dust magic. The first launched a blast of Water Dust in an attempt to push him back, but Bee just pushed through the pressure with ease. The second fired off a large bolt of electricity, but that only caused Jiroubo to further yell. "Imbecile! Don't you know one of his tails is that of the Abaia! Electricity doesn't affect him!"

The Revenants didn't have time to regret their mistake as his guandao swung once then thrusted. Jiroubo cursed and looked at Bee. The last thought he had was that he should've brought more forces with him. He should've brought _far _more forces with him. After that, it was nothing. Not darkness, just nothingness.


	5. Chapter V

**Blight**

**Chapter V**

Outside the capital of Vale's Kingdom, Naruto once more found himself at what was quickly becoming the training ground of Yugito, Ruby and himself. He had found out from Ozpin later that it was a forest known as Forever Fall some time ago. Yugito and Ruby weren't currently with him as one was asleep and the other had classes today in Signal. Speaking of which, apparently since she had started training with the two Wights her skills had gone up and she started to garner the attention of her teachers. She was quickly rising within the ranks of Signal as some sort of late-blooming prodigy. In reality, she was just adapting to their skill level and it showed in her abilities.

Naruto himself was currently trying to get the hang of a particular spell. His clothing was coated in Gravity Dust and he was trying to utilize it to force a rock towards him. Gravity Dust itself functioned on the properties of pulling things together and pushing them away. Thus far, he found it was relatively easy for him to push things away from himself but not pull them towards his body. Still, it wasn't like he would give up just because things were difficult. If he was that kind of person, the Wights would never survive. He _needed _to be strong enough for his siblings. They were counting on him after all.

The blonde lowered his hand as he felt a familiar signature pop into existence nearby. "Good afternoon, Headmaster." Naruto greeted with a smile as he turned around to regard the man. Ozpin returned the greeting with a nod and looked around. There were stones lodged into trees, holes in the ground and even one or two trees that had been uprooted and currently lay on the floor.

"I see that you've been making progress in your arcane studies. Gravity Dust is a difficult one to master, but if you continue I do not doubt you should be able to get the hang of it. Unfortunately, I am not here to give you pointers on magic. I have some things to discuss with you in private. Thankfully, I see that you are already alone. Do you mind indulging me?" The Ninth Wight shrugged and motioned for him to start. "I believe that my Huntsmen have started to encounter the Draugr you spoke of."

"Oooh. I was wondering when Orochimaru would start sending out scouting parties to find us. If there are Draugr out, then there's also going to be Spectres and maybe a Wraith with them to keep the Draugr in line. It looks like he's finally making his move. I wonder why he took this long though?" The blonde shook his head. "Anyways, I assume you want some information?"

"I would very much appreciate it, yes." Ozpin replied as Naruto sat atop the trunk of one of the toppled trees. "While my Huntsmen were able to kill these Draugr, they did something… strange upon death."

"Oh, that's their Lethe. Their Nether wants to disperse like a Grimm, but their Aura wants to keep everything together. Since the Nether will ultimately win, but is restrained by the Aura, it causes the entire corpse to explode violently and injure anything near it. It's one of the more interesting parts of the Draugr. With that said, did they encounter any Draugr with bone armor?" Ozpin shook his head.

"So, the Doctor is holding back. They've only encountered the weakest of the Draugr then. All Draugr are divided into five categories: Baurn, Mund, Vardi, Brandr and Riki. Weakest of the Draugr are the Baurn, or the Infant. They're the ones your men would have fought. All black humanoid shapes with burning red eyes and a weak Aura surrounding them. These are made from civilians who have little to no experience using their Aura. They also lack a Semblance. These are the most common.

"Next in line are the Mund, or Hand. These Draugr have a little bone armor, mostly spikes jutting from their back or arms and a thin mask that covers their eyes, it looks like a domino mask actually. Orochimaru makes these from people who have an active Aura and use it to help them in physical labor like farmers, laborers and sailors. Very few of these ones have Semblances, but sometimes they do.

"The Vardi, or Militia, are halfway between quantity and quality. Bone armor covers their chest, back and arms, with spikes coming from their torso and elbows usually. Their mask is also larger than the Mund, usually extending to cover their forehead. On top of that, their Aura is more visible. All of these have a Semblance, albeit a weaker one, because they are formed from the defenders of settlements, from weaker mercenaries and from tribesmen. Basically, people who use their Aura in combat, but aren't even Academy-level Huntsmen level.

"Next are the Brandr, the Blade. They are much less common than the Vardi but also _much _stronger. Bone armor covers all of their upper body and usually parts of their lower body as well, while their mask covers their entire face. Their Aura is very visible, so much so that any part of their body that isn't covered in bone armor appears to be the color of their Aura instead of black. These are the Academy and Graduate-level Huntsmen that Orochimaru got his hands on." Naruto saw that Ozpin understood where the last one were going.

"Lastly are the Riki, the Authority. Any Huntsmen that Orochimaru manages to get and turn into Draugr go here. Covered completely in armor, they are nearly impossible to kill with weaponry and have Huntsmen-level Semblances on top of that. There are less than a dozen of these in the Complex, but I'm not sure if all the Draugr are located in the Complex."

"I see. So, they only encountered some Baurn if that's the case. There were no masks or armor in the description. I'm assuming the difference in power between each successive ranking is very high?" Naruto nodded, which made the man sigh. "This organization that created you is going to be very difficult to handle if that's the case. You said these were the failures, as well?" Another nod came from the Wight. "I will certainly have to plan accordingly then. That said, there was another thing I needed from you." The blonde sat up, paying attention. "I hear from my contacts over at Signal that a certain girl with silver eyes has been dramatically improving under your tutelage. I am thinking about offering her something akin to what I gave your siblings, but only if you think she's ready." The blonde couldn't help but grin. Ruby would be so excited!

**[Three Days Later – Patch]**

Usually, Ruby would arrive in Vale early on Saturday morning and Naruto would already be waiting for her. After a little teasing from Yang – who generally dropped the girl off – they would leave and go wherever they went that day. Sometimes they browsed shops – and even bought something once or twice – and sometimes they went to Forever Fall to train. Usually, they ate breakfast and lunch together. Depending on how late Yang stayed out they might even eat dinner back at the Wights' apartment. She would leave back to Patch and then come back on Sunday, which they would always spend browsing Tukson's Book Trade when he got his new shipments in. Then they'd head back to somewhere nice like the park or library, depending on what the weather was, to read what they'd purchased. Given Utakata worked there, they usually got good prices from the Faunus.

However, Naruto had been worried when Yang showed up on Saturday morning to park her bike but with no Ruby in sight. She explained to him that Ruby had developed a fever earlier that week and it slipped Yang's mind to send him a message about it. After apologizing, she told him not to worry. However, Naruto couldn't help himself. He told her that he wanted to make sure that his friend was okay, but that she didn't need to give him a ride. After all, he knew what Ruby's Aura felt like so he should be more than capable of finding her.

Yang hadn't known how to react to that statement and just watched as he flared his Aura, and flew off. That wasn't a metaphor, Naruto had actually changed his form to that of a rather large condor and flew off. The blonde girl might've had something to say but she just sighed and decided to leave it be. If she did, perhaps she'd find a funny scene back home?

As for Naruto, he had used one of the six parts of his Semblance – Cloak of One Thousand Furs and Feathers. This one allowed him to take the form of any creature he'd ever observed. It altered him on a biological level, not just change his outward appearance. The downside was that it was _very _Aura intensive to retain this form. Naruto felt he probably had more than enough Aura to make it to Patch though. He had seen maps of it that Ruby showed him, and even had seen what her house looked like thanks to her showing him pictures of her family.

With that in mind, he had used his large wings to carry him far above the clouds and found his way far, far above everything else in Vale aside from Mt. Azure, which was the tallest mountain in the White Curtain. From his vantage, he was able to glide down until he found the settlement he sought. So as to not raise the alarms of Signal Academy, the boy made sure he landed outside the village and reverted back. Of course, as was customary whenever he finished using any part of his Semblance he activated The Hungry Ghost Who Feeds and absorbed some of the surrounding stones and dirt, quickly replenishing whatever Aura he lost. The Complex had made him paranoid about any – and every – thing that could go wrong.

Ensuring that he had a tight rein on his Nether, the Wight ventured forth. While Patch was a relatively large island, he was sure of his step as he traversed the woods. He found himself walking over a beaten, but not paved, path through the thick forests. Either side of him saw large, gray trees that were bare of foliage clawing the sky. The scent of snow, wilderness and Grimm filled his nostrils and he thought he understood why Signal might exist on this secluded island.

Disregarding the packs of Grimm nearby in lieu of worrying over his friend, Naruto trekked forward. While usually he would jump at the chance to destroy more of the blight on this world which were the Grimm, Ruby was more important at the moment. With that thought, he followed the familiar signature of her Aura and the faint smell of rose petals until he found himself looking at a log cabin in the woods. If he hadn't already known this was her house, he might've been surprised, honestly.

"Good morning, can I help you?" Naruto found himself drawn to the gravelly, hollow voice of another blonde. Turning to regard him, the Wight recognized him from the photos Ruby had shared and knew this was her father – Taiyang Xiao Long. That said, he was hardly recognizable from the lively person he remembered from her Scroll's gallery. This man surely had the same blonde hair, but it was darker, as if it hadn't seen proper sunlight in ages. Blue eyes were bloodshot and were sunk in so far that he probably hadn't slept in a long time. On top of that, his skin was rather pale. Naruto knew that Ruby stated Summer's death had affected her father, but he didn't expect to meet a zombie.

"Oh, yeah, my name is Naruto. I heard that Ruby was sick and I just wanted to make sure she was okay." Hearing the words he spoke, the blonde thought that perhaps… Just perhaps he hadn't actually thought things through before acting. Oh well, this was Ruby, so it didn't matter. As long as he could ensure that his friend was okay, then that was enough for him. Taiyang seemed to be thinking about something before shaking his head as if it was groggy.

"You must be one of her friends from Signal. The door is unlocked. I'm sure she'll be happy to have you by, what with Yang rushing off. Her fever is going down, but she still can't leave her bed yet. Just don't excite her too much." Naruto nodded once at his one request.

"Thank you, Mr. Xiao Long!" Naruto responded and made his way inside the cabin. He mostly ignored the kitchen and den as he made his way upstairs. He did note that the furnishings seemed to be nice. Then again, what did he know about that sort of stuff? The most he had ever had was a bed and desk. Throwing that thought away, he made his way upstairs and followed Ruby's aura until he arrived to a door with a large rose-looking emblem on it. Thinking better about just barging in, he knocked.

"What is it, Yang?" He heard from the other side. It was nasally and a bit tired, but he recognized it as Ruby's immediately. He grinned, knowing that she was okay, just as Taiyang and Yang had told him. Still, he never really believed people until he observed for himself. Hm… was that one reason that the Complex gave him less missions? Oh well.

"Actually, it's Naruto." He replied back before hearing what sounded like a crash and something squeaking. "Ruby? Are you okay?" When there was no response, he opened the door and saw that the girl was wearing a set of black silk pajamas with white dot designs all over it, the top buttoned all the way to her neck. She was also on the floor, the blanket of her bed wrapped around her legs and her eyes a bit disoriented. Her usually ivory-colored skin was a light pink to show just how high her fever was. Rushing to her side, the blonde helped her to her feet. "Ruby, what happened?"

"Owowow…" She moaned as he set her back on her bed. "Naruto? What are you doing here?" She asked. Her voice was no longer tired, but he could still hear its nasally tone. She seemed somewhere between surprised and nervous based on her voice, though the Wight couldn't understand why the second was there.

"Oh, I was waiting for you this morning when Yang showed up and told me you were sick." He explained. Ruby looked at him, seemingly waiting for him to say something else. "Um… that's it. She told me you were sick, so I wanted to make sure you were okay." Her face brightened a few shades more than it already was. "Ruby, you should lay down, I don't want your fever to get any worse." He grabbed her shoulders and gently forced her to lay down, covering her back up. "I'm glad you aren't as bad as you were before, according to your dad, but I still want to make sure that you recover correctly. So, I'll stay here and get you back to proper health."

Naruto saw that Ruby wasn't saying anything and wondered what her temperature actually was. Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead against hers only to feel her rapidly heat up. Humming in thought, he frowned as he realized his work might be cut out for him. That fever was coming back with a vengeance. That said, he had been the one to help his siblings any time they were ill, he could do this! "Alright, it seems like I'll be here all day helping you, Ruby. I think I might need to borrow your kitchen for a bit, but just call me if you need something. I need to find out what ingredients you actually have so I can cook you something to get rid of those sinuses." Walking out the room, but leaving the door open, he began searching the contacts on his Scroll for Yang. He was so busy he didn't notice that Ruby finally reacted to everything and she was wearing just about the largest grin she'd ever had on her face.  
**[Outside Noval]**

Yagura found himself having moved south from the White Curtain with the Red Horde with Raven to a settlement she called Noval. She had explained that this was the main base of her people. To Yagura, it wasn't fit to even be called that. The housing was little more than quickly put together shacks. The _walls _were basically just a palisade. Hell, the only thing they seemed to have correct was their farming, but that was likely due more to the fact that the laborers were slaves captured by the Horde who worked the land. Raven seemed to see the distaste in his eyes and asked about it.

"This is nothing more than a tenement prancing around as a village. You have crops, but what if there's a Grimm attack? What if the Huntsmen find it? Those buildings would go down if I shook the air hard enough. A few hits from my tail and your sorry excuse of a wall would be nothing more than planks on the floor. How can you call this anything even approaching a settlement with these horrid conditions?" Raven's men seemed to have frozen at Yagura's tone. They were looking at Raven, awaiting her response. She only smiled. The now-maskless woman's red eyes were alight with amusement at how the newest recruit refused to bite his tongue.

"To be perfectly honest, I take my men out as often as I can. This idea of a _settlement _was a recent one, so that the women and children wouldn't have to keep up and so we wouldn't be slowed down. We are warriors and raiders, construction and agriculture aren't exactly in our blood. We have some citizens here from outlying settlements that agreed to toil instead of die. For that reason, we actually have a constant supply of food coming in, or will once harvesting begins. Our reserves are still pretty high from the last chain of raids we led and from the hunting expedition that some of my men took a week ago.

"However, you aren't wrong to question what would happen if we, ourselves, were raided. It is certainly something that I didn't think to ever have to worry about." Raven shrugged in an uncaring sort of way. Then she turned her eyes to the boy with a sneaky sort of grin. "Did you have some experience in any of these areas?"

Yagura sighed. He really shouldn't. He should look for his siblings. That said, Naruto wouldn't approve of leaving these people defenseless. Well, maybe _these _people. That said, Yagura couldn't help but sympathize more with the Horde than other settlements, given they offered him a chance to gain strength and also help find his siblings. There was no telling where they were, but having a base of operations he could rely on would certainly help the search.

"In some areas, I do. First of all, your wall is going to need reinforcement. A palisade made of wood won't do anything but give you a few minutes in the event of a Grimm attack, especially without any towers. You're going to need more laborers so you can have a proper stone wall. These buildings are going to have to come down whenever you have laborers to build housing in an effective way.

"I know a little of that, thanks to my past, but not enough to give you anything but the most basic type of defensive buildings. I know far more about fortifications to keep a base protected. My brother was the one who learned about architecture, we'd need to find him first. The coast isn't far off either, so getting some fishers out there would be a great idea.

"On top of that, if you could build up a navy, then you'd have protection by sea and a way to begin branching out to piracy. There are a lot of things you can do with this location, but you first need to make sure it can withstand even the most basic Grimm attack." Raven's smile slowly grew until she patted the boy's head.

"I believe you will fit in nicely here. Can I count on you to lead these projects if I can supply you with the proper amount of slaves?" Yagura looked at the woman before nodding. If nothing else, having a proper home to bring his siblings back to would be a great course of action. "Wonderful! If that is the case, then I'll allow my men to rest and we'll go on a raid first thing tomorrow. I'll have you come with me so that we can figure out what supplies we need to snatch in addition to the laborers. I assume the wall is the first project you want to work on?"

"If you speak truly, food is not an issue. If that is the case, then yes. I would prefer to stay somewhere that I don't have to worry about a Grimm attack destroying us due to improper fortifications." Of course, she didn't have to know that he could destroy Grimm on a whim, but it was more preparation for when he got the others here to Noval. With that thought, Raven began leading him through the not-quite-yet village that he was now in charge of improving.

**[Xiao Long-Rose Residence]**

Naruto looked at Ruby's finally lightly sleeping form with a smile. Under his careful ministrations over the last twenty-four hours, she seemed to be recovered back to normal. Her fever was basically gone and she would be ready to go back to Signal tomorrow. Of course, this weekend was _different _than they usually had, but he was more than content with that. Ruby was okay, and that's what mattered.

On Saturday, after he'd gotten in contact with Yang, he'd had to endure a few minutes of her trying to tease him – though he still wasn't sure why – before she finally told him where to find the ingredients he wanted. Half an hour later and he had fed Ruby the soup he prepared. Given she was supposed to be recovering, that wasn't metaphorical. He actually spoon fed her the soup to ensure that she didn't exert herself at all. She seemed a bit hesitant at first, so he took the first bite to show her that it was good. He prided himself on being a good cook after all! Her fever seemed to get slightly worse after that, but she took what he offered.

Aside from that, it was a matter of ensuring she stayed in bed, got enough fluids and helping her walk to the bathroom every so often. Aside from that, she wasn't allowed to move from her spot. That didn't mean he expected her to stay bored all day though. They talked a bit, he read her several of his favorite stories that he'd downloaded to his Scroll and even went through her own books to read them to her. She was asleep by the time that Yang arrived back from Vale. To say that he gave her a lecture about leaving her sibling in her time of need was an understatement. Her fever kept getting worse every time he turned around! Yang, however, seemed to take to it but was smiling the whole time. She was an odd one.

By the time she returned, it was well past dark and Taiyang asked him if he wouldn't rather just spend the night than go off at night. Apparently, that was when the Grimm on Patch were most active. Naruto supposed it was a case of Grimm turning nocturnal in response to there being a Huntsmen Academy in the center of the island. Still, while he _could _just fly back to Vale safely, if Taiyang offered it meant that he would be able to stay here in case something happened to Ruby.

Thankfully, nothing did. It seemed he might have been worried over something unnecessary. Still, he was more than happy with the results of his work. Placing his hand on the girl's forehead, he was even happier to feel that she was somewhat cool instead of the warmness of yesterday. Everything was going splendidly, in his opinion.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt his Scroll vibrating. Taking it from his pocket and looking at the screen, he grinned as he realized it was Fuu calling him. Quickly leaving Ruby's room – so as to not wake her – he made his way downstairs and through the front door before answering the phone. Seeing the video feed from the other side were his siblings, he greeted them happily. "Hey, Fuu! What's going on?" Seeing how she wasn't in any danger, his already high spirits were even better.

"Hey, Naru. I just wanted to call you to check in on things. I know you usually go on a date with that _human _every weekend, but I thought if I caught you early enough that you could talk. You aren't already with her, are you?" The verdette seemed to be looking at his screen. "Actually, where are you? That looks like some sort of forest. I don't remember anything like that in Vale when we were there." Ignoring Fuu's tone when talking about Ruby, Naruto answered. He knew Fuu's opinion of humanity, but he was sure that she'd eventually see how great his friend was.

"No, Ruby's not awake yet. I'm not in Vale either. I'm at her house, she ended up getting a fever earlier this week so I was helping her recover." Fuu narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "What?"

"Do I need to come back this soon to ensure you don't make bad decisions? I knew I couldn't trust Yugi and Utakata to watch you. Listen, Naruto, you may be the leader but you have this tendency to… trust people. It's gotten us out of some situations before, but I don't want you to end up paying for it."

"You worry too much, Fuu!" He replied off-handedly. "I'm fine. I was just helping out a friend in their time of need. It's the same thing I would've done for you if you were sick. In fact, it's the same thing I _did _do for you several times." The girl seemed to soften a bit, but shook her head.

"Okay… I'll take your word for it. I swear though… all I need is a reason and I'll make sure that girl's entire family pays for her hurting you!" That softening immediately disappeared as he eyes became fierce, her hand nearly grabbing Chomei. She calmed a bit after she realized that, sighing. "Anyways, I was trying to find out if anything interesting happened while we've been gone. I know the semester hasn't started yet, but I wanted to get in contact now since we actually have a signal for once."

The blonde thought about what she asked for a moment before smiling. "Yeah, a lot has happened since you left. Where do I even begin?" Fuu wasn't here for any of it, but he was still glad he would have a chance to explain to her what a _normal _life felt like. Maybe he could still convince her to come back in time for the semester. That would be pretty great, wouldn't it?

**[Haya Archipelago, Stoma Island]**

Off the south western tip of the Kingdom of Vacuo lies an island chain that has commonly become known as the Haya Archipelago. This area of Vacuo is well-known for its pouring rains and terrible thunderstorms, a rarity amongst the entire western half of the continent. At the very epicenter of this archipelago, there is an island in particular known as Stoma for its tendency to swallow up any ships that stray too closely. Officially, the Kingdom of Vacuo states this is due to a series of whirlpools set up around Stoma due to its very particular conditions. In reality, it is all artificial and hidden by the officials to protect a specific individual.

Said individual resided in a large, stone tower that didn't appear to have been built, but rather to have been formed as wind and rain weathered down the cliffside which overlooked the Haud Sea. He walked the halls, also made of stone, of his near solitary confinement in an effort to search out his destination. The man was tall, taller than most humans but nowhere near inhuman. His hair was a deep, dark red while his eyes were purple with six, concentric rings shining brightly. He wore very little aside from a large, black cloak that covered his entire body and carried a ringed, monk's staff to aid him in each step. This was Nagato Uzumaki, leader of the New Dawn and God of This World – as far as he was concerned, anyways.

As he took each step, the man winced in pain but shook it off until he made his way to a particular chamber. In this chamber, he regarded the sole occupant. It was what appeared to be a fully nude teenage girl who he had imprisoned. Her arms were raised high over her head and cuffed in iron, which itself hung from the wall by thick chains. The girl also hung, her feet a sparing few inches above the ground to keep her from escaping.

Gripping his staff, which seemed to be made of a material that was blacker than the blackest color, he prodded the woman between the ribs with the butt end of it. With a shriek, she came awake and began panting. "Tell me what you see, Priestess." The girl herself appeared terrified as soon as she saw him. She was no more than fourteen years old with platinum blonde hair down to her waist that was heavily disheveled and coated with blood in this place, dirt in that. Her eyes were a light, violet color that lacked a pupil.

"P-please… that is unnecessary." She begged. "I'll tell you, just don't… touch me with that _thing_." Nagato nodded as the Priestess, as he called her, closed her eyes and seemed to shake a moment. She winced before looking at him. "You will… be killed. I can't tell when, but you will be killed by the powers of… the powers of a clock. Your time will come to an end when the one who controls time and the one who leads Grimm come together with the tribes of Remnant and the warrior with silver eyes. Beacon Academy will be your undoing." Nagato grimaced before slamming his staff into the floor, leaving a visible scorch mark in the stone.

"I… see. I will prepare accordingly then. Sleep, Priestess. I will have need of you again. For now… I must pay Dr. Orochimaru a visit." Nagato left the chamber, but the Priestess only grinned. It wasn't a pleasant smile, it was a mad smirk. As the door shut, she giggled. That giggle slowly rose in pitch until she was cackling like a madwoman. "Your own weapon will be your undoing… You'll have signed your own fate away like the idiot you are! Some God! Then… then I'll be free! Heh… _hehe_…. **AHAHAHAHAHA**!"


End file.
